I Hate That I Love You
by almostlover-hopelessdream
Summary: She hates him unfathomable amounts. He's not too crazy about her either. As fate would have it, they're forced together under tragic conditions that she's only just learning how to deal with and that he manages to block out completely. They're two sides of the same coin and in a war against the machines, they will have to learn to trust each other if they're ever going to survive.
1. The End of a Chapter

**Hello and welcome to my first multi-chap tup fic! Or my first multi-chap fic ever! So I've already written about 6 chapters because I'm very easily distracted and drop things quickly but I think that I can continue this right until the end... I was going to make it about 10 chapters long but then I started planning and I've planned up to chapter 13 which is around when she leaves the Academy so yeah... Like I said in the summary, I'm planning to update twice a week which I believe is an achievable goal. I don't have a beta so excuse any mistakes - point them out to me and I'll fix them. Also, big shout out to Zoe who's idea of putting a song at the beginning of each chapter I'm stealing, so yeah, love you! **

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Taz, Up or the Starship Rangers however any original characters are 100% mine!**

* * *

_I would give anything I own,_  
_Give up my life, my heart, my home._  
_I would give everything I own_  
_Just to have you back again.  
**Everything I own - David Gates**_

* * *

Taz Lopez stared at the abomination in the mirror; the girl staring back at her was most definitely not who she was a few hours ago. The mirror-girl wore a scarily pink dress that was so big Taz wondered if she would be able to fit through the door frame, her make-up was over-done and made her look like one of those china dolls her _abuela _insisted on keeping in the living room and her long, raven hair which was usually up in a messy braid was curled elegantly, reaching her waist. She was a completely different creature than who she normally was. "_¡__Mam__á__! _I look _rid__í__culo_!" She whined, ungracefully shoving a hand under the many layers of skirts to hitch up her tights which had fallen down under the weight of the dress. Her _mamá _batted her hand away and stood her up straight, standing proudly behind her and admiring her work in the mirror.

"_Disparates_, _mi hija, __te ves hermosa_._" _She replied, moving her hand to plait the hair across the top of her head, "Have you thought about what _chambel__án _you want to dance with at your _quincea__ñ__era _later, Tazia?" She asked as casually as she could.

Taz rolled her eyes and moved to sit on the bed when her _mamá _had finally finished with her hair, "Do I have to?" She complained, sounding more like her 5 year old sister, Rosa, rather than the 15 year old woman she was becoming, "They're all _idiotas _who can barely look after themselves!"

Hastily pulling her off the bed so she wouldn't ruin the dress, her _mamá _chuckled, "Exactly, they need a good wife to take care of them and give them children before they go off to war to fight _los robots__. _You'll make a lovely wife, _mi hija, _but who will be your husband?"

She groaned, it was tradition for a girl to meet and dance with their future husband at their _quincea__ñ__era_ and her _mamá _had it in her head that Tazia would meet hers, it seemed she simply ignored her daughter's rough-and-tumble attitude and the fact she was set on joining the Starship Rangers as soon as she was 18.

She would give anything to get out of her 'big day'.

* * *

Taz sat to the side of the celebrations being held in her garden and watched as her _mamá _ran about making sure everyone was catered for. She rolled her eyes, her and her mother were worlds apart – her mother was prim and proper and made sure her house was always spotless while Taz was messy, late and didn't give a damn what others thought about her. She was more like her father in that sense. Taz felt her heart give a painful clench as she thought of him and she stood up, looking for some sort of distraction. That distraction came in the form of her best friend Carlos subtly pulling her from the celebrations and behind a tree.

"Carlos! _¡Hola!_" She cried happily, wrapping her arms around the boy. Carlos was tall and very handsome, though Taz had never paid any attention to that, she enjoyed mocking him every time they walked past a group of girls and they swooned over him.

"_Hola, Tazia._" He smirked, grabbing her hands before she could punch him for not using her preferred name, "Enjoying your birthday?"

She rolled her eyes and leaned against the tree, not caring that she would probably get dirt over her dress and in her hair, "The only thing I'm looking forward to is that _gigante _cake and my presents. What did you get me?" She teased, pouting her lips.

Carlos chuckled and leaned his hand next to her head and leaned in closer to her to block her from the view of her aunties who were running around looking for the birthday girl, Taz rolled her eyes at their stupidity.

"I've got you something extra-special," Carlos muttered, his face too close to Taz's for her to be comfortable. She tried to push herself backwards into the tree to no avail. She had known about Carlos' crush on her for a while and hoped that, in time, it would just disappear and he would meet someone who was head over heels for him. It's not that she didn't like him, she did, it was just he was her _mejor amigo_ and she didn't want him to ruin that, "Hope you like it." He whispered, bringing one hand up to cup her face while the other dropped from the tree to rest lightly on her neck.

Taz sighed as he leaned in to kiss her and weighed the pros and cons of the situation. On one hand, Carlos was her best friend and she knew she would hurt him by not returning his feelings as strongly. On the other, her _mamá _would be on her back all day to find someone to dance with and who better than her best friend? Deciding that it was probably the best out of a bad situation she began kissing him back, bringing her hands up between them to rest on his chest.

She felt him smile as he felt her return the kiss and he began kissing her a bit harder until they heard a shriek. Turning their heads, still pushed together against the tree they saw Taz's _mamá _grinning like an idiot and clapping her hands. Taz groaned, "_Mamá, _go _away_!"

Carlos laughed and stepped back, grabbing her hand and entwining their fingers. Taz sent him a glance and he simply shrugged, unable to keep the grin off his face. She smiled back feebly, feeling immensely guilty for using him.

"Come on, Tazia," Carlos promoted, pulling her away from the tree and acting like the perfect gentleman in front of her _mamá, _"Let's go dance."

Taz shot him a glare and was just about to start yelling when they heard an almighty crash come from behind them. Screams began to fill the garden and, thinking quickly, Taz pulled her _mamá _and Carlos behind the tree which was, luckily, big enough to hide all three of them from view. She grabbed her mother's hand and held onto it tightly to stop her from whimpering too loudly.

Poking her head out Taz exhaled sharply at the scene in front of her. Robots were storming through the garden, shooting people mercilessly and letting them drop to the floor, dead. Taz almost threw up as she watched everyone she had ever known being killed in front of her eyes. She was about to throw herself back behind the tree and just hide until the robots left until she heard a scream. Not just any scream, it was Rosa, her 5 year old sister. Not evening caring about her _mamá _calling her back or Carlos running after her, Taz sprinted into the destruction and looked around for her sister.

She found her backing slowly away from two robots looking terrified. Sprinting over to try and save her, Taz screamed, "Hey, toasters! Get away from her, _hijos de puta!_" She slammed her hand down as she passed a table and almost cried at her good luck as she picked up the cake knife. The two robots turned simultaneously and raised their hands to shoot her. Remembering, Carlos had followed her, she screamed, "Get Rosa, Carlos! And get the hell out of here!" For once, Carlos didn't argue with her and sprinted past her and the robots and scooped Rosa up in her arms and ran for cover behind the tree.

Taz, letting out a fierce scream, ran towards the robots and before they had a chance to shoot, slammed the knife into one, ripping through its circuitry. She watched as the red lights where eyes should be faded into blackness and the robot fall to the floor. She spent a second in disbelief before she remembered the other robot and turned around to face it.

Its hand was pointed directly at her head and the shot only just missed her as she fell to the floor to duck out of the way. Just as she was about to stand up she heard screams from the three people she loved most. She paled and slammed the knife into the robot faster than she would've believed and sprinted off to the tree.

Three robots were surrounding Carlos, Rosa and her _mamá _and even as she tried to make her legs go faster, she knew what was going to happen. Almost as if in slow-motion she watched the robots shoot them down as if they were nothing. Taz couldn't stop the terrible scream ripping from her mouth as she finally reached them and fell down beside their bodies. She scooped Rosa up in her arms and shook her hard, trying to get her to wake up. She was screaming so loud that she didn't hear the three robots approach her from behind.

Two of them picked her up by her arms and dragged her in the air, letting Rosa fall limply to the floor. She screamed and struggled, kicking everywhere she could but only resulting in bruised feet. The other robot, who she assumed was the Head Robot, stepped in front of her, "Stop fighting, puny human." It stated in a monotone, "We want to play a game. What are traditional birthday games?" Taz shook her head in disbelief,

"You're _sick_!" She screamed struggling harder against the vice grips on her arms, "I'll kill you all, _hijo de puta_!"

"Ha, ha. You are funny. You are a weak human. You cannot defeat us. Now we will play our game." Taz screamed as she felt herself being lifted up and tied to a tree branch upside-down by her waist. Dangling in the air she watched as each robot picked up a metal table leg. "I think this one is called piñata, we are supposed to beat you until you explode and then eat what comes out. Humans have disgusting traditions but we will have fun."

Taz struggled uncontrollably, unable to move properly as the robots had tied her arms next to her body. Realising she wouldn't be able to get out of it, she brace herself and awaited the first blow. It was harder than she anticipated and she whimpered as she felt one of her ribs crack. She closed her eyes and allowed them to keep hitting her with the metal bars and waited until she was able to join Rosa, Carlos and her _mamá._

* * *

Lieutenant Up stormed into the garden with his zapper raised; he didn't have time to worry about the dead bodies on the floor nor did he worry about the lack of survivors. He had one goal on his mind: to kill all robots. He started to gun them down with no mercy, urging his team forward and yelling a wordless battle cry.

Just as he thought he had finally gunned them all down he heard a human scream. Following the noise, he stopped dead as he watched a young girl take on two robots while a boy holding a much younger girl ran for cover behind a tree. He didn't have time to be impressed with the girl's skills in taking down two robots, and he doubted he would be even if he did, as he saw five more robots sneaking up behind two of his Ensigns to attack. Turning away from the scene, he gunned down three of the robots quickly before the other two rounded on him. He ducked behind an upturned table just as the laser beams shot over his head, he looked over the edge and, with the help of an Ensign, gunned down the last robots.

Thinking they were finally in the clear, Up returned his attention to the surviving civilians. He growled when he saw three more robots tying up the girl with the bodies of the child, the boy and another woman underneath her. He began running towards the group, hoping to get there before the robots hit the girl. As he got halfway there, however, he saw one robot take the first swing and was pretty certain he heard a rib crack. To her credit, the girl only whimpered a small amount and prepared herself for the next blow. Up allowed the robots to get three more hits in before he was finally close enough to take them down. With three quick shots the robots were on the floor and the girl hung limply in the air.

Yelling to the Ensigns to scout for more robots he moved towards the girl and shot her down, catching her in his arms. Her eyes shot open and she began struggling and kicking out, screaming out obscenities in Spanish. He struggled to get the rope from around her arms and as soon as he did she began punching and clawing at his face.

"Let me go! I'll kill those _hijos de puta! _I'll kill them all!"

* * *

**So there you have the first chapter of I Hate That I Love You! The next chapter should be up on Wednesday. Reviews would be appreciated!**


	2. Little Girls with Big Voices

**Okay here's chapter 2 on Wednesday, just like promised! You'll begin to see why their relationship is different in my story... Aha, thanks for the reviews and the story alerts so far, I really appreciate it! This chapter's a bit short but I promise a much longer one for Sunday! Do I have to disclaimer every chapter? I DON'T OWN TAZ OR UP OR THE STARSHIP RANGERS BUT ALL ORIGINAL CHARACTERS ARE 100% MINE! I am also upset Zoe hasn't reviewed so dude IF YOU'RE READING THIS REVIEW MY STORY OMG. Anyways. Ooh shit I haven't chosen a song yet...**

* * *

_I think you're just evil  
You're just some racist who can't tie my laces  
Your point of view is medieval_  
_Fuck you!  
Fuck you very, very much._  
_- Fuck You, Lily Allen_

* * *

Up struggled to hold the girl who was protesting and moving around so much in his arms he thought she was going to break another rib, "Calm down there, little lady. You're safe now. I'm a Starship Ranger." She shot a glare at him that made him falter; he had never seen so much venom in one tiny girl.

"Put me down, _idiota, _I can walk!" She screamed, somehow punching him across the face again. In his slight daze and growing annoyance he dropped the girl to the ground, not noticing or simply ignoring the sharp burst of air that shot from her mouth as she hurt her rib. He was ready to move on, leave her to what remained of the local medical team when she stood up and rounded on him, "And _don't _call me 'little lady', do you understand you big _hijo de puta_?" She stood with her hand on a hip, glaring at him that would make any other grown man cower in fear. Up, however, just rolled his eyes and began to walk away, his patience growing thin with the troublesome girl. "And just where the fuck do you think you're going, _cabrón_?" Groaning, he spun around to face her,

"_I _am going back to my Starship to do my job; I do not have the time to stand around listening to little girls bitch at me for saving their life." He turned around once more and began walking in the same direction as the limited number of Rangers. Until he heard her voice again.

"What good are you _Starship Ranger?_ You didn't do anything!" She screamed at his back, "You want me to thank you for saving my life? What about the lives of my family? Every single one of them is probably dead you _puta idiota _and I'm not much better. You expect me to treat you like some big hero when you were _too damn late _to save _anyone_? You were _supposed _to be doing your job but you're nothing but a useless _hi_-"

"ENOUGH!" He roared, storming back to her and shoving his face towards hers, "You know nothing, _nothing_ of what it's like as a Ranger! So stop pretending like you know exactly what I was _supposed _to do! You are nothing but a little girl who thinks she's as tough and as experienced as Rangers like me just because she took down two robots! I will not stand around and be screamed at by some immature little teenage girl! People lose their lives every day! And yes, you should be thanking me because I tried my damned hardest to keep you alive. I could've let those robots beat you to death but I didn't, why? Because it is my damned _job _to keep idiot civilians like you alive!"

She kicked him in the shin and screamed in his face, "You don't care! You _maldito bastardo _you don't care! Everyone I have ever known is probably dead and you just don't give a shit! What makes you so different from the robots, _senor?_" She sneered sarcastically.

He really didn't mean to but out of nowhere his hand whipped around and punched her in the face, he held himself at the last moment so there was no way she could be hurt but the look in her eyes made him immediately regret his actions. She wasn't hurt or even shocked; she looked smug, like she had just been proven right. "No difference whatsoever." She hissed, she began to walk away when she heard another voice,

"Tazia! Tazia Lopez!" Out of the corner of her eye she saw the Ranger straighten up beside her into a salute. Commander Herson ran towards to pair, relieved to find at least one person he knew alive. "Lieutenant Up! At ease. Well done for saving her, Ranger." Taz heard him mutter an insult under his breath but collected himself and said wirily,

"Just doing the dead-goddamn job done, Sir." Up watched with apprehension as his Commander scooped the girl in his arms and started fussing over her as she hissed in pain, "Uh – permission to speak, Sir?" The Commander waved his hand and he continued, "I hope I'm not being too bold here, Commander, but how exactly is it that you know each other?"

"Oh, of course!" Herson tore his attention away from Taz and clapped Up on the shoulder, "Tazia Lopez meet Lieutenant Up, the best dead-Goddamned Ranger in the entire G.L.E.E – if I do say so myself. I've known Tazia since the day she was born, in fact I was there! Her family and I go way back. I went to school with both her parents and graduated the Academy with her Father. We fought some good battles together but then came the Battle of Andamanta and…" He trailed off and Taz's eyes grew sad again. "We lost a lot of good men that day but I'll never forget Antonio, great, _great _man. I've kept in contact with Tazia and her family ever since, they even had me around for Thanksgiving last year, isn't that right, Tazia?"

"_Taz."_ She muttered, looking around, "_Tio_ Greg? Have you seen- Is there anyone else?" She sounded so young and vulnerable Up almost allowed a small bit of guilt to creep in for hitting her. Almost. The Commander smiled sadly and placed a large hand around her shoulders and kissed her head lightly,

"I'm sorry, kid." He truly meant it, her family was the only family he had every known and now it had just been ripped away. It was just as hard on him.

"Don't call me 'kid'." She sighed, but her heart wasn't in it. She rubbed her eyes, smearing even more of the atrocious makeup down her face; she really was a sorry sight to behold. "_Adios Tio,_ I'll write soon." She muttered, walking off and gingerly holding her rib. Up sighed in relief, he was never one for moments with loved ones; they were in the middle of a war dead-goddamn it, they couldn't just stop and talk with old friends when they felt like it.

Herson sent the girl's retreating back an odd look, "Tazia, Taz! Where are you going?"

She called back without turning around, "To see my house is liveable, if not, I'll just find somewhere else." Up should've felt a twinge of sadness at this, in another time, maybe, but this was a war and kids much younger than her were squatting in holes much worse than the destroyed houses that surrounded them, just waiting for their deaths. Up had learnt long ago that feeling sorry for yourself or anyone else got you nowhere, the only way to end it all was to kill every dead-Goddamn robot that polluted the Galaxy.

"Wait, Taz! We're taking you back with us!" Herson yelled. Up whipped his head around to stare at his Commander in disbelief.

"Sir?" People died every day, they were faced with literally dozens of orphans every time they went on a mission but you didn't see them picking up each and every one and take them back to the Starship, there were just too many. Up raised his eyebrow at his Commander, he had always respected the man, though he'd never go as far as to call them 'friends', and Up had never seen him act like this before. Sure, his compassionate side often came out and he might've made sure that one of the younger children made it to the refugee tents but he had never been foolish enough to bring a child on board before, an _injured _one no-less. They didn't need a child taking up the medical resources needed for the Rangers.

"Lieutenant, that girl is the closest thing I have to a daughter, you wouldn't understand. She's coming back with us."

_Damned right, I don't understand, _Up thought bitterly, "And what exactly do you intend to do with a wounded 12 year old girl, _sir?_" Taz had reached them by that point and punched him hard in the arm, it may have left a bruise on anyone else but Up barely felt it and simply raised a patronizing eyebrow,

"I'm 15, you _estúpido cabrón_!" She glared at him angrily, almost daring him to insult her in front of Herson. He didn't but let out a long breath as he stared at his Commander, waiting for an answer.

"She's joining the Academy."

"_What?_"

* * *

**Once again sorry for the shortness but, enjoy! Reviews make me happy... ;D**


	3. A New Beginning

**I promised you a longer chapter and here it is! The first two chapters were sort of practices and I've realised that they were way too short for a chapter so this one is around 6,000 words. I'm pretty pleased with it, I've spent quite a while on it. The only trouble is chapter 4 probably won't be up on Wednesday. My first exam is tomorrow (it's 00:40am but I'm counting it as Sunday, okay?) and I have an exam every day up until Wednesday, leaving me literally no time to edit the 2,000 word chapter I already have and make it a 6,000 word one like this one. I'm sorry for any mistakes - I've reread it a lot but there still may be some. Please tell me what you think!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Taz, Up or the Starship Rangers but all original characters are 100% mine!**

* * *

_How can I help you say goodbye?  
It's okay to hurt and it's okay to cry,  
Come let me hold you and I will try,  
How can I help you say goodbye?  
- How Can I Help You Say Goodbye, Patty Loveless_

* * *

"Sir, you can't be serious!" Up protested following after his Commander and the small girl he was pulling behind him. He was outraged; he knew the Commander was a little too _soft _for this girl but to allow her into the Academy? It was unheard of!

"I can assure you, Lieutenant, I'm deadly serious." Herson replied his voice cold and his grip strong on Taz's arm. The pair carried on walking, ignoring the angry Lieutenant keeping up with their every stride.

"Commander, she's 15 years old! You know how hard it is for girls to be accepted into the Academy even when they're the appropriate age! There has never been a cadet younger than 18 before, not even a boy!" The Commander turned on his Lieutenant, still holding onto Taz like she would disappear if he let go,

"Lieutenant, I graduated the Academy when I was 21, just like everyone else, and I've been in the Rangers for 22 years – you don't think I'm well aware of that?"

Up narrowed his eyes, hating that he couldn't lay a hand on his superior officer, "Of course, _sir, _what I simply meant was the Admiral-"

"The Admiral is an old friend of mine and he owes me a lot of favours – I'm sure he'll accept her into the Academy."

Up thought of the old man who never ventured out from behind his desk and couldn't help but disagree. The Admiral may have been the Commander's friend but he was never big on exceptions and, as Up eyed up the small, beaten teenage girl beside him, he decided that there was nothing in the universe that would convince the Admiral to allow someone like _her _in.

"What are you looking at, _ese_?" Taz spat, ripping her arm from Herson's grip and running over to kick Up in the shin. Up was never hurt each time the young girl decided to punch or kick him but he was getting increasingly annoyed with her. He had just saved the ungrateful little shit's life and she was treating him as if he had done something wrong. He breathed deeply through his nose and looked around for his Commander. He saw him walking away with his back to them on the radio, requesting another drop pod because the ensigns had gone on ahead, and seized the opportunity. He grabbed her by the arms and spun her around so his face was in hers. She screamed quietly at the sudden disturbance to her rib and kicked him in the shin yet again. He gripped her arms so tightly it probably, and hopefully, hurt and hissed,

"Stop fucking kicking me, girl. You're not tough, you're not strong and you have no right to command me around, do you hear me? The only reason I haven't beaten you into next week is because your Uncle over there will kick me out of the Rangers if I do but I swear to dead-God, if he wasn't around I would knock you the fuck out. I don't give a shit that you're a girl nor do I care that you're a child, you're getting on my last nerve and dead-God help you if I run my patience with you."

Taz struggled against his grip, desperately trying not to cry as his hold became so tight she was sure she would have permanent bruises, "What are you going to do _hijo de puta_?" She asked, kicking his leg once again for good measure, "Threaten me to death? You're not that tough either, _idiota_, you're just hiding behind your status and big-boy threats!"

He growled and pushed her away, "And how do you think I got that status?" He yelled, reaching back out to grab her as she started to tumble backwards towards the ground. He would've let her fall if Herson hadn't been so close. "Like I said, the only reason I haven't hurt you is because of the Commander." He let go of her and stormed away trying to control his frustration. He had never had patience with civilians, or anyone for that matter, but he had never laid a hand on a girl, _a child _before. While he wasn't feeling immensely guilty, he did still have _some _morals. He didn't take pleasure in screaming at a woman but this girl really knew how to rub him up the wrong way. Up didn't give a damn what people thought about him but he had never saved anyone before and have them bitch in his face about it. He didn't know what it was about this girl but from the moment he heard her speak he wanted nothing to do with her. She was insolent, arrogant and downright _bratty_.

Luckily, to save Taz from any more pain and Up from a demotion, Herson walked back to the pair. Noticing the distance between them and the furious look over both their faces he raised an eyebrow, "Everything okay over here, you two?"

"_Fabulouso,"_ Taz muttered, sending a quick glare in Up's direction and stalking towards where she could see the drop pod landing and tentatively holding her broken rib.

Herson raised his eyebrows at his Lieutenant as he glared at Taz as she walked away, "Lieutenant?" Up tore his eyes away from the girl and forced a salute,

"Just perfect, Sir."

* * *

The tension on the drop pod was unbearable. The only conversation that occurred was when Lieutenant Smith, who was flying the pod, walked out to greet the group; he soon learned to keep quiet.

"Hello, Sir!" He called out waving as they approached behind Taz, "Who's this little treasure you've picked up then?" Smith, being relatively tall, bent down to Taz's height to look her in the eyes. He smiled patronizingly and put a hand on her shoulder, "What's your name, darling?" Before he even knew what had happened he was stumbling backwards clutching his jaw after the tiny girl had punched him. She hadn't broken it, she didn't have the strength to do that just yet, but he was certain she had left behind a very ugly bruise. He quickly decided that he would have to come up with some sort of cover story so the other Rangers didn't know he was almost taken down by a teenage girl.

"_¡Idiota! Estoy tan harta de los __guardabosques_ _estúpidos como usted pensar que soy una niña pequeña! No me llames 'tesoro' ¿hacer tu tiene eso? ¡He tenido suficiente mierda de ese idiota de allá! __¡Vete a la mierda!_" She shrieked, rounding on the Lieutenant again with her fist raised. Her anger flared when she heard Up sigh in exasperation.

Herson stepped forward and pulled Taz into the pod, shaking his head in warning towards the Lieutenant. Smith, having a good understanding of Spanish, laughed and turned to Up, "What the fuck did you do to piss that one off, eh?" Up, not in the mood for jokes from mediocre Lieutenants, snapped his arm back and punched him in the jaw. He stumbled back, clutching his jaw in real pain this time, terrified that he had broken it. At least he didn't need a cover story.

Other than Smith muttering they would be arriving at the ship that would take them to the Academy in 3 hours, no one spoke for the entire journey. Taz allowed Herson to give her some medicine that would get rid of the pain and leave her feeling numb so she was slumped back into the chair, staring out of the small window with her eyes glazed over. Herson and Smith knew what Up was like in one of his rages and neither wanted to test the waters so both sat feeling extremely awkward every time Up exhaled loudly or randomly stood up and punched the metal walls. Up himself knew he was acting like a child but the doped out girl really pissed him off and he had no idea why, it had been a very long time since someone had brought out this level of emotion out of him. He vowed to drop the girl off at the Academy and never lay eyes on her again; she was nothing but bad news. He didn't want to get chucked out the Rangers for killing a girl 9 years his junior.

* * *

After an unbearable three hours, the drop pod docked at the ship. Smith jumped up and ran off the pod faster than anyone thought possible while Up stomped his way off, intending to make his way to the gym and take out his frustrations on the punching bag rather than the small girl beside him. Taz was still unable to move because of the medicine so Herson scooped her up in his arms and walked her towards the medical bay. Herson was worried about Taz and his Lieutenant, they would've always clashed, he had known that, their personalities were too similar but it had seemed the pair had already developed a deep hatred for each other.

The medical staff gave a collective gasp as they saw Commander Herson storm into the medical bay with a bruised and battered girl, still in her _quinceañera_ dress, inhis arms. The dress was torn and ruined, one of straps hanging limply off her shoulder while the other was completely black with dirt and her long black hair was a mess of knots and blood. Placing her down on the bed, Herson called for Drane, the head doctor.

He came sauntering over, not having noticed the young girl on the bed and rolled his eyes at the Commander, "What have you done now you bloody fool?" He said softly, running his hands over Herson's torso, looking for any obvious injury.

Herson batted his hands away with a smile and motioned to the bed, "Not me, her. She's got at least one broken rib and I'm pretty sure every inch of her is black and blue."

Drane turned his head and let out a small gasp when he saw her, "Dead-God, Greg. What the hell happened to her?"

He just shook his head, suddenly looking unbelievably weary and sad, "Robots. Killed every last one of her family. I'm all she's got left now." He ducked his head to try and stop the rapidly building tears. He was a Starship Ranger, dead-Goddammit, not a teenaged girl.

Drane, finally cottoning on that the young girl was probably Tazia Lopez, placed his hand on Herson's cheek and lifted his face to meet his, "Are you okay?" He muttered, though it was probably a stupid question.

"No. No, John, I don't think I am. I just- I need her to be okay. She's the closest thing I've got to a family now." Drane smiled and kissed him at the corner of his mouth,

"You've got me. And don't worry, she'll be okay. There's never been a broken bone I couldn't fix!"

Herson chuckled lightly and gave Drane a quick hug, "I'm going to go video-chat with the Admiral, call me when she wakes up?"

Drane nodded quickly before shooing him out of the small cubicle, "Now get out and let me work my magic!"

* * *

Taz woke feeling groggy and out-of-place. She slammed her hand down to where she knew her bedside table was and where she normally left her phone. Her hand, however, didn't come in contact with anything and she started to panic. All at once, her senses began to pick up signals that meant she wasn't in her house. The itchiness of the sheets, the sounds of the beeping, the smell that was too clean, too sterile to be anywhere but a hospital. She noticed that she was wearing an over-sized t-shirt and some slacks that were just small enough to fit around her hips; they were wearing clothes that were most definitely not hers. Taz shot up in a panic only to be pushed gently back down again.

As her eyes came into focus she registered the kind-looking, middle-aged doctor standing above her. He looked vaguely familiar though she couldn't quite remember where she knew him from. "Hello, Tazia." He said, smiling so warmly she couldn't help but smile back.

"Taz," she corrected, looking around the cubicle. From the many G.L.E.E insignias in the room Taz concluded she was on a Starship but for the life of her couldn't remember why. "Why am I-"

"On a Starship? Yes, I was worried you'd suffer memory loss; that happens sometimes when a person goes through a trauma such as yours. I'm John Drane."

Taz furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to place the name, "John Drane, _Tio _Greg's husband?"

The doctor looked immensely pleased and clapped his hands together, "Yes! That's the one! Looks like you're only suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and a mild case at that, you should remember soon." Then the doctor's eyes grew sad as if he didn't actually want her to remember.

She began to panic because of the sadness in his eyes and desperately tried to wrack her brains for the reason. She was torn between the bliss of ignorance and the overwhelming desire to understand. Finally, giving up, she turned towards Drane. "Can you tell me what happened, _Tio _John?" Drane's eyes lit up with tears of happiness as Taz slipped so easily into calling him 'uncle' and he sat down on the side of the bed and took her hand in his.

"Well, honey, it was your _quincea__ñ__era_…" It was? She had already been through that horror? She tried to remember, the dress, the shoes, but her mind came up blank. "…but then the robots came and…" Taz closed her eyes and gasped as she saw red laser beams shoot behind her eyelids, she felt a pain shoot through her chest as she began to remember, "…your sister, your mother, your grandmother, your best friend…" She saw each of them fall to the ground, a smoking hole in their chest, an emotionless robot standing above their bodies, each person he listed was like a shot to the heart, "…you were the only survivor…" Yes, she remembered being tied up and beaten with metal poles, she had never known pain like that, but then she remembered being rescued by… "…Lieutenant Up…" That was right, that _gigante idiota. _The one who made the day that much worse, the mere thought of him made her blood boil,

"_Tio! _Stop, I remember. I remember it all." For the first time that day (was it still the same day?) Taz allowed herself to cry. She noticed somewhere in the back of her mind that it didn't hurt her rib when she hunched over to cry into her knees and wondered how she recovered so quickly. She heard Drane telling a nurse to get Herson and _quickly _and she felt him rubbing soothing circles on her back. "They're all dead," she cried, falling against Drane's side, "Every single one of them is dead! Rosa, Carlos, _mam__á__… _it's all my fault!"

By this point Herson had entered the room and rushed towards Taz's side to comfort her, "Hey, now. It's not your fault at all; you did the best you could!"

"The best I could? _Tio, _if I was doing the best I could I would not be an orphan on a Starship! I'd be at home looking after my family and friends talking about how horrible the robot attack was and how lucky it was that no one got hurt! I've let every one of them down!" She began crying even harder, not even finding it within herself to be ashamed. The guilt that was taking over her body was almost overwhelming; it felt like a heavy darkness that just wanted to creep into every part of her body and suffocate her.

"Taz, it was not up to you to keep them alive! It was a terrible thing and neither of us will never fully recover but I will fight until my dying breath until you believe that this was not your fault!" Herson pulled her close to his side, rocking and shushing the small girl. Her outburst frightened him although it didn't completely surprise him. He had been watching her lock away all of her emotions, save anger, since her father died when she was 10. Truth be told, he had been expecting this breakdown to occur long before.

However, the thing that truly scared him was what she was going to be like when she finally calmed down. He had seen it happen in many people, Lieutenant Up being the prime example. War changed people. It changed his Lieutenant from a compassionate, caring Ensign into a man who did not seem to have emotions. Herson was worried that he was going to watch the same happen to Taz. Sweet little Tazia Lopez who used to bring him wildflowers for the fields near her house. Tazia Lopez who was only 15 and had seen and experienced the horrors no human should ever have to. He knew he had probably lost the man Lieutenant Up once was forever and he prayed to dead-God it wasn't going to happen to the girl who he saw as a daughter.

"I let them die! Every single one of them! I survived and they could've too, it _is _my fault! I promised _papá_ I would keep them alive and I didn't!" She wailed, falling back against the pillows.

"Taz!" Herson yelled, making her sit up and look him directly in the eye, "This was not your fault. How the hell do you think you would've saved them?" When she didn't answer he continued, "You couldn't. Luckily, Lieutenant Up saved you else you'd have suffered the same fate as them." She made a small noise in the back of her throat; she wouldn't exactly call being saved by the Lieutenant _lucky. _"I'm just glad you're alive, darling." Herson smiled at her and kissed her head. Taz's tears and heart-wrenching sobs slowly came to a halt although she was certain that the suffocating guilt was never going to leave. She smiled feebly, suddenly feeling all emotions and energy drain out of her. It felt like she was numb.

She watched through hooded eyes as her uncle turned to his husband and whisper in his ear. She couldn't bring it in herself to care about what they were speaking about. All she wanted to do was to fall asleep for a very long time. Just as her eyes were closing she saw Herson turn around and give her a warm smile, "By the way," He whispered, moving in closer to her ear as she tried to wake herself up a bit, "I talked to the Admiral and…" Taz's eyes opened up a fraction and locked onto Herson's, her breath hitched slightly though she reminded herself not to hope for too much. "Welcome to the Academy, Cadet Taz."

Taz smiled sadly, although she was feeling elated, "I'm allowed in the Academy?" She began softly, sounding like she was a million miles away. And she was, in a small town in Mexico to be exact. "But the Lieutenant said-"

Herson looked at her with sad eyes and pushed her worn body back down on the bed as she tried to raise her shoulders, "Yes, well, the Lieutenant was not aware that the Admiral fought with me and your father and that we both made a promise to him to always protect you. We both decided that this was the best option for you."

"_Gracias,_ _Tio._" She whispered, feebly pushing his hands away and sitting up to hug him. She buried her head into Herson's shoulder and smiled; now she would be able to avenge her family.

Herson, gently but firmly, pushed her back onto the hospital bed and kissed her forehead, "Now get some sleep, Taz. We're going to have a lot to do when we reach the Academy."

The last thing she saw before she succumbed to sleep was her uncles walking out of the cubicle, hands joined and heads close together as they muttered to each other.

* * *

"I heard she was the only survivor." A woman's voice whispered, floating through Taz's mind like a knife. She wanted to tell whoever was talking to shut the hell up; couldn't they see she was right there? But her eyelids felt like they weighed 100 tonnes and everything about her body and mind felt groggy and slow.

"I heard she really pissed off the Lieutenant." Another, more high-pitched, voice replied, not caring about volume level whatsoever. Taz felt a small prod to her arm and heard a patronizing sigh, "Poor girl, and look how small she is. They will murder her in the Academy, what was the Commander thinking? Everyone knows he could put her on one of the G.L.E.E's safe-planets with one of the best houses, but no, he decides to destroy the girl he claims is like a daughter to him." The woman scoffed and Taz heard the rustle of papers.

Despite the pounding headache every noise was giving her, Taz found the strength to open her eyes just a fraction and unsuccessfully glare at the nurses standing at the edge of the bed, reading her notes. A woman with unruly, curly black hair (which Taz noted, should really be up and out of the way) gasped. "Get Doctor Drane," She whispered, eyes locked on Taz's, "And _hurry_!"

The other nurse, who Taz had decided was the second one to speak, nodded and scurried away, no doubt feeling unbelievably embarrassed at being caught. The black-haired woman wasn't fairing any better and her pale skin was flushed a brilliant scarlet. "Hello, sweetie. My name is Mary-Anne and I'm the head nurse on this Starship. How are you feeling?"

"Offended." Taz muttered, sitting up, relieved that the tension in her body and head was disappearing.

Mary-Anne, if possible, flushed an even deeper red and coughed awkwardly, "Yes, well, uh. You heard what Susan said then? Well, you know-"

"How's my favourite patient?" The familiar tones of John Drane came from behind the curtain and Mary-Anne looked gratefully towards the head doctor before hurrying out of the cubicle. Probably running to the nurse's station to gossip about Taz. She found that she really did not care.

"I've got a _golpeteo _headache and some _perras _were being annoying, but other than that I feel okay. Are we near the Academy?"

Drane filled a cup with the jug of water on the table that Taz had not noticed and passed it over to her, "You woke up just in time. I was just about to send Greg in with a bucket of cold water." He grinned and winked at her while she feigned offence.

"_Starship docking in two minutes._" A monotone robotic voice rang out, making Taz wince slightly. Robots were still a raw subject.

Either Drane didn't notice or he simply ignored it as he rounded the bed and helped Taz out, "Excellent, we're at the Academy. I have to take you to Greg now, okay?"

Taz nodded, though she really felt like she had no choice in the matter, and followed Drane out of the medical bay.

The two passed Herson, looking slightly stressed, storming down the opposite direction. When he caught sight of the pair his face relaxed into relief and he hugged them both, "The Admiral is expecting us as soon as we dock, Taz. We need to be at the entrance in about-"

"_Starship docking._"

"Now. Let's go."

* * *

Taz didn't have time to take in the grandeur of the Academy as she was whisked right down the maze-like halls towards the Admiral's office. Faces of boys much older and stronger than her whipped past and she felt trepidation for the first time since she found out she was being accepted into the Academy. She began to wonder if Mary-Anne and Susan were right about her, she was a 15 year old girl who sort of knew how to fight and took down two robots just by accident – how would she ever be able to take them on? Her heart began to race and she breathed heavily, convinced she couldn't do this. Her face, however, remained impassive and unimpressed. She had long ago perfected her emotionless mask.

When they finally made it to the Admiral's office, Herson stormed right past the Admiral's assistant without even acknowledging her.

"Sorry, Sir!" She cried, leaning over the desk with one arm slightly outstretched as if she would be able to stop them from walking through the door, "You need to book an appointment. The Admiral is a very busy man."

Herson rolled his eyes, "The Admiral requested me personally, Chloe. Go back to reading your Space-Vogue or painting your nails." Chloe flushed and sat down with a muttered, 'Yes, Sir. Sorry, Sir.' Taz snorted with laughter.

Knocking once, Herson let himself into the grand office. Taz looked around in awe at the room; it was filled with literally hundreds of pictures of who she guessed was the Admiral with many different Alien leaders and ambassadors. She raised her eyebrows at these, wasn't he supposed to be a Starship Ranger? How did he have time to visit all of these people?

"I know what you're thinking," The old man sitting behind the desk said, answering her unasked question, "But these old bones couldn't take commanding another mission. I had to step down and take this boring old desk job." He sighed, looking in envy towards Herson's commander's uniform, "Still, I supposed, it isn't all that bad, I get to give special privileges to my friends." The Admiral winked in her direction and she allowed a small smile to grace her face.

"Phil, this is Taz." Herson said, smiling down at the young girl as she stepped forwards and looked the Admiral straight in the eye. She already had a guaranteed place in the Academy but she wanted to prove to him, and to everyone else, that it wasn't because these two men had fought with her father. She wanted to prove that she could do it. That the nurses were wrong. That she was just as tough, no, _tougher, _than those _gigante _boys out in the hall. She had once beaten up a boy three times her size back in Mexico, why couldn't she do it now?

The Admiral broke into a large grin at the look on her face, "Bloody hell, Greg. She's the spitting image of Antonio!" He studied her face for a small second and looked surprised at the lack of emotion she showed.

Herson laughed and slapped her on the back, "And she'll be just a good a Ranger!"

The Admiral nodded in approval before his face lit up as if he has just remembered something and he began searching through the many papers on his desk. "Greg, I have decided to re-assign your team. You have spent too much time preventing robot attacks on Earth so how would you and your team like to be reassigned at the Academy? You and your Lieutenants can teach while your medical team can take up the medical bay? And don't worry; I'll be sure to appoint John Drane as head doctor!"

Herson's face spilt into a wide grin and he reached over to shake the Admiral's hand, "That would be perfect, Sir! Thank you! Though…" He began dubiously, "I doubt Lieutenant Up will appreciate the change, though he rarely appreciates much." The Admiral chuckled and nodded,

"I'll give you the full details later, Herson. However, now we should focus on getting this girl to her room. She's in 4031, do you know where that is?"

Herson nodded and began steering Taz out of the door, "I know this place like the back of my hand!" He called, hearing the Admiral's laugh as the door closed behind him.

* * *

The pair walked down the winding hallways much slower than the walk to the Admiral's office and Taz finally had time to appreciate the Academy. It was massive, much bigger than she had ever imagined. Herson informed her that she had only seen about a tenth of the entire place and yet she passed the entrance to a mall, at least two gyms, a swimming pool and a library. She made a mental note to check out the library before she went to sleep that night. Herson looked at Taz from the corner of his eye and smiled slightly at the awed look on her face; he as she reached out slightly to skin her fingers against the door.

All the while, mutters followed them down the hallways and heads poked out of dorm rooms to watch them walk down the hallways. One boy even stopped dead in front of them and openly stared as they passed. Herson glared at the boy and stared him down until he finally got the message and fled. Despite feeling uncomfortable under the many gazes, Taz kept her head held high, her back straight and her eyes straight ahead when they weren't admiring another part of the Academy. She wanted to make an impression straight away, she wanted to show these _chicos _that she was strong enough to make it through the Academy, she wanted to show that she was not like all of the other girls who were focused on hair and makeup and the latest gossip. She wanted to show them she was tough.

When they finally reached room 4031 Taz let out a long breath that she didn't even know she was holding. She shared a quick amused glance with Herson before he swiped the door card and walked her in. Her room was what she assumed was standard for the G.L.E.E; there was one double bed pushed against the far wall and the sheets were a typical white. On the same wall there was a small wardrobe which was propped slightly open and Taz saw was already filled with clothes. Raising her eyebrow at Herson, she walked over and took a look through the clothes. There were about 3 of the blue uniforms Taz had already seen the Cadets wearing and several pieces of casual clothing like tank-tops, jeans and some camouflage cargo-pants. Looking at the bottom of the wardrobe Taz found two pairs of sturdy-looking boots, a bit like the ones Lieutenant Up were wearing.

"I called ahead and asked them to buy you some clothes. I thought it'd be better than what you're wearing now." Taz glanced down and saw she was still in the over-sized clothes and silently cursed herself; she probably looked more like a dishevelled survivor rather than the Academy's youngest recruit. The other Cadets were probably having a good-old laugh at her expense right now. "There should also be some pyjamas and… other things in that drawer over there." Herson pointed to the chest-of-drawers that was next to a door that Taz assumed led into her en-suite. He walked over to the door and stuck his head in, "Ah, yes. Every room is equipped with toiletries and you can always just go and get more from the janitor's cupboards. But if you need anything there's a mall on the 5th deck of the ship." Herson clapped his hands together and looked around, "Yeah, I think that's it! You like it?"

Taz nodded and sat down at the desk that held a high-tech-looking laptop and separate view-screen; she was secretly very excited about using these, the best technology she ever got back in Mexico was her phone which was most probably blown to smithereens. "_Es perfecto. Gracias, Tio._" She smiled, looking forward to showering and getting into proper fitting clothes.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Herson walked over and pulled out two photos from his bag. They were in a surprisingly good condition and Taz recognized them immediately. "Before I found you… alive. I went back to the house to see if I could find anyone. I found these on the floor and when I found no-one, picked them up as a reminder of you." Taz took the two photos from his hand and stared intently at them. They were the only two pictures of herself that she actually allowed other people to see and kept on display in her room. The first was of her and her entire _familia, _back when she was 10 and her father was still alive. Rosa had just been born and the 10 year old Taz was looking up at her _mam__á__, _laughing as the baby threatened to jump out of her arms. Like his daughter, Antonio was laughing at the scene with his arm wrapped around the waist of his wife and the shoulders of his oldest daughter. Finally, Taz's _abuela _stood to the side of the picture, smiling slightly as she held onto Taz's hand tightly. The second picture was of her and Carlos. It was taken just over a year before, a couple of days before she turned 14 and one of their friends had come over with a camera and told them to smile. Taz laughed hysterically as Carlos leaned over and kissed her cheek, it was before she had learnt of his crush on her but even after she still kept it on her desk. Taz smiled sadly and allowed one tear to drop onto the picture before she wiped her eyes and stood up.

"_Gracias, Tio._" She whispered, hugging Herson tightly.

"_De nada._" He replied, squeezing her back and closing his eyes.

She let go and walked over to the bed-side table and put the two pictures up, now at least she would have something from home, to remind her that it was all real.

"Well, I have to get back and talk to the Admiral about what's going to happen now. Your timetable is on the desk and your lessons start tomorrow at 7am sharp. Please don't be late." She raised an eyebrow and he laughed, "I know you won't, I'm just reminding you. Goodbye, Taz." She waved goodbye and allowed him to kiss her on the cheek before shutting the door softly behind him.

She all but ran to the shower, ripping off the uncomfortable clothes and jumping under the welcome rush of hot water. She spent about 10 minutes untangling her hair, taking out various twigs and shuddering as she saw some blood rush down the drain. She carefully washed her cuts and bruises, not wanting to open anything up again. After about an hour, when she finally felt clean and refreshed, she stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in one of the surprisingly soft towels.

She walked towards the chest-of-drawers and pulled out some underwear whilst rooting for some clothes to wear; she found some comfy-looking slacks and a white tank-top. Pulling her clothes on she located a hairbrush and started the painful task for brushing through the knots in her hair; finally she was finished and pulled it up in a messy pony-tail. She stared at herself in the mirror and couldn't believe the complete transformation from who she was when she last looked. Before she was an elegant girl with her hair in ringlets and her face covered in makeup. Now she was a worn-looking girl with hair pulled away from her face, revealing the many cuts and bruises. She felt the familiar sting of tears pricking her eyes and had to blink rapidly before she could let them fall. She looked at herself straight in the eye and made a promise to her reflection that she wasn't going to cry anymore. She would show everyone that she was as tough as she knew she could be.

Finally feeling a little bit like herself again she began looking at her timetable and realised with a happy start that she had combat all day the next day. She looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was almost 11pm. She felt the weight of everything suddenly take over her and her eyes grow heavy, she dragged herself over to her bed and only just managed to flick the lights off before dropping down into the comfy mattress. She barely had time to contemplate her next day before she succumbed to sleep.

* * *

**So that's it! This is long for me but I don't know if it's still too short so if it is please let me know! And sorry for the delay that'll come with chapter 4!**


	4. The First Day

**Sorry, sorry, sorry! Wow, it's been so long so I've updated and I promise I _have _been working on this chapter it's just been so hard! I had no idea where it wanted to go! Damn story being in charge of its own damn story line. Anyways, I guess seeing Zoe finally update inspired me to update as well, I hope this is alright but like I said it was pretty hard so it may just be crap. Yeah. SORRY.**

* * *

_Tough.  
__I ain't ever been nothing but tough,  
All my edges have always been rough,_  
_Oh, backbone!_  
_There ain't nothing wrong with a woman who got a little backbone!  
- Tough, Kelly Pickler_

* * *

Taz woke up that morning with a feeling of trepidation in her stomach; she quickly ran to her en-suite bathroom and threw up what little food she had had the day before. After she had finished emptying the contents of her stomach, she leaned heavily against the toilet breathing in deeply. She sighed and mentally reprimanded herself for being as scared as she was. _Be tough_, she scolded herself, staring angrily at her hands, _Be tough for them, prove everyone wrong. Prove that _idiota _Lieutenant_ _Up wrong. _With that thought she managed to shakily push herself to a standing position and brush her teeth. She stared in the mirror as she did, despising girl in the reflection; she was a broken girl, anyone could see that. It was in her eyes, in the way she held herself, in the grimace that was noticeable even through the tooth brush. Taz turned her head away and decided that she would no longer be that girl. She would no longer be the helpless damsel-in-distress; when the time came _she_ would be the one kicking the robots' ass, she never wanted to be as weak as she was at her _quincea__ñ__era_. She was going to be tough.

By the time Taz had left the bathroom she had perfected The Look. The Look that she would later be feared and respected for. The Look that said, 'I don't care about anything,' and 'I will destroy you if you get in my way.' Her back was rigid, her jaw was set and her eyes were hard. A small voice in the back of her mind reminded her that it was not dissimilar to the way Lieutenant Up had looked but she squashed that thought away in the corner of her mind that held her _quincea__ñ__era. _She was nothing like him.

After she had hastily pulled on the too-big blue uniform that all the Cadets had to wear she stalked out of her room, grabbing the timetable on her desk as she did so. It was only six o'clock so Taz decided she would try and find the mess hall and hope to get some food down her before she was expected to participate in combat for the entire day. Following the direction she saw most of the cadets and officers walking in she felt eyes on her; remembering her resolve to be _tough _she walked confidently down the hall with her eyes straight ahead. Even so, she heard the familiar jeering comments being thrown in her direction.

"That's_ her? She doesn't look like much."_

"_I heard she took down two robots."_

"_Look how badly she's beaten up, she won't last 10 seconds in the ring."_

"_I heard Lieutenant Up's furious. Johnson saw him in the gym beating the crap out of a punching bag and muttering about the standards of the G.L.E.E. dropping."_

"_She's going to get killed."_

"_How old is she? 8?"_

Still, she walked down the hall, pretending to ignore the comments from her peers just like she had done for the past fifteen years of her life. She knew she could fight and would last a decent amount of time in the ring. She'd been scrapping on the streets since she was a kid, much to the displeasure of her _mam__á_and _abuela_, so she knew how to throw a few punches. She didn't know everything but that was why she was here: to learn.

Finally making it to the mess hall she walked quickly to collect some breakfast. There wasn't much choice although she had never expected to receive luxurious food at the Academy, she was just grateful there were some foods she was familiar with and not the compressed food she often heard her _papa_ complaining about. After taking her plate from the surly-looking lady behind the counter she turned to the table area. Her next problem quickly presented itself to her as she realised that she had nowhere to sit. She was just about to give in and take the food to an empty table at the back of the room when she felt hands on her shoulders. Looking behind she saw Drane smiling at her, she smiled slightly back before he directed her to a table where Herson was sitting. She sighed in relief; she had no problem with sitting alone it was just nice to see familiar faces on her first day at the Academy.

"Well, good morning Taz!" Herson cried through a mouthful of egg, Drane rolled his eyes and dapped at his husband's mouth with a napkin. Taz laughed slightly and dropped herself into the chair opposite the pair.

"_¡__Buenas días, Tio!_" Taz cried, happily tucking into her food as she realised she was starving.

"Did you sleep well?" Herson questioned, raising an eyebrow in her direction,

"_Si, _I slept like a baby!"

Drane laughed and roughly patted her shoulder, "I don't know how you sleep so much, girl! At least it means you're up nice and refreshed for your first day at the Academy! What lessons do you have today?"

"All day combat." She replied. She faltered when she saw the two men share a quick, worried glance, "_Qu__é__?_" She questioned dubiously.

"Nothing!" Herson replied, too quickly, "I'm sure it will be… an experience!" Drane nodded in agreement.

Taz raised her eyebrows but decided not to comment on her uncles' unusual behaviour, she was sure she would find out what got them worried soon enough.

They ate the rest of the breakfast in silence, listening to the bustle of the Academy around them. They still heard the frequent comments about Taz but no-one thought it wise to mention. Finally, the seven o'clock bell was heard and each person stood up to go to their various activities.

"Good luck, Taz!" They called as she quickly hurried out of the hall and walked towards what she hoped was the main gym; it wouldn't do good to get lost on her first day.

* * *

Taz waited in line with all of the other cadets looking the epitome of a perfect soldier even though her first day of training hadn't even begun. She stood at the very end of the line with her back straight and eyes forward ignoring the chattering and giggling 18 year olds beside her. She was clearly the youngest and undoubtedly the shortest and, to make matters worse, she was the only girl. The other Cadets kept shooting her quick glances, she knew they were probably talking about her, still wondering how she got into the Academy, she swore she even heard one smart-ass comment that she had probably slept her way in. She felt the sudden anger rise in her and she clenched her fists ready to turn and beat the boy into next year. However, she managed to control herself and just ignored them and waited for the time to show them why she had earned her place in the Academy: when they were allowed out in the ring.

Taz knew she was a relatively good fighter and although the older Cadets she had seen in the hall when she first arrived had intimidated her, she realised that most of the weak-looking boys who joined her in the hall were probably less experienced than she was. This idea boosted her confidence slightly and she grinned to herself. If she could prove on her very first day that she was tougher than most of the _chicos _in her year, that would be a sure way to secure her reputation. She glanced down the line to check out the competition. Idly, she realised that the pure fact she was calling them her 'competition' and not her 'peers' or, Dead-God-forbid, _'friends' _meant that she already had the upper hand over these _idiotas. _The rest of the year seemed to have already formed their friendship groups, a thing Taz found astonishing as she assumed that everyone else had arrived the day before just like her. The others would have a harder time injuring their friends; she, on the other hand, had no problem with sending at least one of them to the medical bay. She surveyed the boys and saw a mix of people. Admittedly, there were one or two boys who looked like they could stop an 18-wheeler with their bare hands and Taz quickly decided that she would hit the gym at least twice a day so she could stand a chance of beating them. There were some happy-go-lucky cadets who were aimlessly gazing around the room as if they weren't in the Universe's top training school. Taz almost felt a pang of pity for some of the cadets who looked like they just wanted to be holed up in the science department rather than be facing a beating. Taz averted her eyes to the front again happy that, within time, she should be able to floor every first year at the Academy. The thought made her smirk before she realised she was supposed to look tough and she dropped the smile from her face.

The doors slammed open and immediately the class hushed down as they waited for their teacher to appear. Taz almost groaned out loud when she saw none other than Lieutenant Up walk in – it was like Dead-God was out to punish her. Why did she have to train under this _idiota? _Her earlier confidence was almost completely washed away at the sight of him, from what she'd heard in her very brief time out in the halls, Lieutenant Up was not a man to be messed with and from the way he'd hit her without remorse she had no doubt about that fact. She felt the beginnings of true fear begin to brew in her stomach before she squashed it, though it was true that this man already hated her, he couldn't do too much damage while they were at the Academy, could he? She silently cursed the Admiral for assigning Herson's ship to the Academy. Sure it was nice to have her Uncles around while she felt the place out but if it meant being murdered by Lieutenant Up every combat lesson then she would gladly have let them leave. She sighed inwardly as she realised that she had the Lieutenant for the entire day; her Uncles' reactions made a lot more sense to her.

Lieutenant Up glared ferociously at the cadets as he walked to stand in front of them, Taz thought she heard one of them whimper quietly. "Fall in, cadets! Now!" The class quickly rushed forward and stood to attention in front of the terrifying Lieutenant. He slowly walked down the line, frowning and shaking his head, occasionally making some sort of comment like, 'Sort that hair out, cadet, this is an army not a fashion show,' and 'Straighten your back boy, would your Ma let you slouch like that?' When he got to the very end of the line and saw Taz, he simply scowled and muttered some shit about how the Academy was just letting anyone in these days. Taz lowered her arm and made a fist, "I did not say 'at ease', Cadet! Are you fucking stupid?" He screamed in her face, making her want to punch that ugly look straight off his face,

"No, _Sir_, I am not. I just don't appreciate the way you talk to me. You seem to be confused about how I was accepted into the Academy so I thought I'd show you?" She phrased it like a question, as if almost daring him to fight her.

Taz had never physically seen anger flood into a man's face before and she concluded that it was probably one of the most terrifying images she had ever seen. Still, she held her ground even as the Lieutenant's face turned slightly purple and his nostrils flared. He raised a hand to smack her and she flinched a small amount before he seemed to rethink and pointed a big finger in her face, "You insolent little shit! How dare you talk back to your superiors! You actually believe you would win in a fight against me?" He sneered in her face and stood back slightly, "Right here boys, is the example of a girl hiding behind her own arrogance and do you know what we do with arrogance?" He yelled, down the line being met with a couple shakes of heads, "I _said_," He growled through gritted teeth careful not to just forget the rules and kill one, why did they put him on babysitting duty again? "Do you know what we do with arrogance?" This time he was met with a loud chorus of 'No, Sir!' and he nodded his head in approval, "We _beat _it out. And we'll have time for that later. Right now, little miss, get your arse over there and drop and give me 50."

Taz's eyes narrowed. 'Little miss'? Okay, _now _she was mad. Who did this _gigante idota _think he was? She was a _cadet _at the _Academy _and she thought that she would be treated with just a smidgeon of respect. She sarcastically saluted him, much to his apparent displeasure and as she was walking away she muttered some Spanish insult under her breath,

"What was that?" Up thundered, rounding on the small Mexican girl,

"I called you an _'idiota'. _I know it may be hard for you to work out so I'll translate it for you, it means 'idiot'." She called, looking up to glare into his eyes. She'd already anticipated the back-hand slap that came her way and braced herself – it didn't make it hurt any less though.

Up breathed through his nose heavily. He had been warned by the Admiral, Herson, and Drane that Taz would be in his class and he had been explicitly told not to send her to the medical bay but it was proving difficult. It was as if the small, _weak _girl knew every button to push to send him over the edge. He wasn't always so irrational but it was something about her that made his anger just spill out. _Still_, he thought grimly, _at least the other brats won't dare cross me. _He tried to let himself feel any remorse or sorrow for intentionally injuring a fifteen-year-old girl but he couldn't find it in himself.

"100! I swear to Dead-God girl, by the time you're done in this institute you'll be so obedient you'll run to your death for me. Now shut the fuck up and do your press-ups."

As she walked over to the edge of the hall to start her press-ups, determined not to break and give him the satisfaction, she heard him order the rest of the group to do 10 laps of the field outside. She pushed herself back up and allowed herself a glance at the cadets' faces. While some of them, such as the truck-like fellas, were regarding the field without a trace of worry on their faces, most of the cadets were looking terrified. Taz scoffed. It was just _running! _It wasn't like he was forcing them to do the obstacle course that Taz had spotted on the field. Sure, it was a fairly big field, bigger than any she had seen back in Mexico, however, that didn't mean it was something they had to be scared over.

She heard them amble loudly out of the hall and heard them break into nervous chatter about how terrifying the Lieutenant was as soon as the door closed. Taz rolled her eyes; did they seriously think that he couldn't hear them? _She _could hear them and she was on the other side of the rather large hall.

Somehow she knew that the Lieutenant was still in the hall regarding her every move so she forced herself to keep her back straight and eyes down while she continued ruthlessly ploughing through the push-ups as if they were nothing. Truthfully, she was only on about 20 and her arms were burning. The most push-ups she had ever done in a row were 10 and that was only when she was forced to in P.E., she was not used to this exertion of her arms. Taz heard the Lieutenant approaching her and resisted the temptation to look up at him.

"I am going to break you, girl." He whispered harshly, surveying her from above with distaste, "Your Uncles and the Admiral seem determined to get you through your time here but mark my words your life is about to become a living hell."

"My life is already a living hell, _idiota, _do your worst." She hissed, blinking the sweat from her eyes and forcing herself not to think about her _quincea__ñ__era_. With every cell in her body she hated the fact that she owed her life to this man, the man that was determined to see her fall, to watch her fail.

"You have no idea what you're getting into, kid. You might just die from it." He said calmly. Surprisingly, it was the calm that terrified her the most.

Still, she scoffed as if he wasn't making her wish she was never born and said, "I'd like to see you try."

She heard him move slightly closer to her and then felt an overwhelming pain and he slammed his foot on her back. Her face hit the floor full on and Taz felt lucky to not have a broken nose, she landed on her arms painfully and the force of his foot had knocked the wind out of her. She lay there coughing, struggling to regain push-up position with his foot still perched on her back.

Slowly, he bent down next to her, applying more pressure to her back and making her cough harder, and put his mouth next to her ear. "You should never have started this game with me. I always win."

With that, the foot and his presence disappeared as he stormed out of the hall to go and scare the rest of the group into submission.

* * *

Just as Taz finally finished her 100 push-ups, the rest of the group began filtering into the hall looking as bad as she felt. She stalked back to the group, sweaty and out-of-breath, and joined the not-so-tidy line as their Lieutenant stood in front of them and began some bullshit speech.

"My name is Lieutenant Up and you will call me Lieutenant Up or Lieutenant or Sir. No variations of those three unless you want to end up in the medical bay. I don't give a fuck who you are nor do I want to hear about your pointless lives. You will not speak unless spoken to by me or another superior officer. I don't care for slackers, for back-talkers and for people who only got into this Academy because their Uncle is an influential figure in the Galactic League." He was staring directly at Taz as he said this, making it obvious that he wanted to humiliate her and make her classmates think she was weak. She focused her glare on him and stared directly into his eyes. He wanted to play dirty? _Fine, then_, she decided, straightening her back and preparing for the worst, _Let the games begin._

"He's not my actual Uncle, or were you too _estupido _to figure that one out? I know it must be hard for you." The class muttered among each other about how she must have a death-wish. Taz was beginning to wonder the same thing, she had no doubt in her mind the Lieutenant was being completely truthful when he said he never lost. She didn't know why she thought she could take him on. Still, she held her position and continued to stare him down.

"SILENCE!" Up roared, terrifying the first-years. Taz jumped slightly and broke eye-contact with him; she scowled at the floor as he continued. "You will go over to those mats, spilt into pairs and spar. Now."

The first years looked around at each other as if deciding whether or not Lieutenant Up was serious. None of them had ever sparred before so it seemed unlikely that they would even be able to land any punched on each other. Up watched their hesitation with growing annoyance, "Right, you incompetent little fools, pair up with the person next to you and get your asses over to the mats before I personally send each and every one of you to the medical bay. Dead or alive." _That _made the cadets jump into action.

Taz looked to the guy to her left and saw him eye her up carefully. He was taller than her by at least two heads but looked like he was better suited for fixing some electronic crap rather than fight the loud-mouthed Mexican who had already pissed the teacher off twice before lesson even started. "Well come on, _idiota._" She mumbled storming over towards the closest mat, she heard him shuffling slowly after her and she rolled her eyes.

She turned to face him as he made it onto the mat and she settled into the basic sparring stance her _papá _had once taught her. She shifted her weight to the balls of her feet and bounced slightly, making sure that her feet were shoulder width apart. She positioned one foot slightly in front of the other for balance and pulled her fists to block her face and ribs while she watched him try to prepare in the same way. Immediately she could tell he had no experience prior to joining the Academy. His stance was weak and while Taz could never claim to be an expert she did know a few ways to beat him. Deciding to start out lightly she punched his shoulder and watched as he stumbled back. She looked at him in surprise, despite the fact that he wasn't balanced at all a small punch like that shouldn't have moved him. He simply shrugged at the surprised look on her face and aimed a feeble punched at her head that she quickly grabbed. She spun him around still holding onto his arm and heard his satisfying cry of pain when she pulled his arm back too far. She kicked him to the ground and moved back around to face him and he shakily got to his feet. She immediately dropped back into stance and began circling around him, he began to follow her, seemingly determined not to let her behind him again but in doing so he crossed his legs. Big mistake. She waited until they were crossed again before she quickly swept her leg under him so he went tumbling. To his credit he pulled himself back up to face her again and tried another feeble attempt at flooring her. She had to admit he did move his leg pretty quickly and it would've come into contact with her waist if she didn't have such fast reflexes, she spun out of the way of the kick and punched him hard in the face. He fell to the ground again but this time refused to get back up. As she watched him lay on the floor in defeat, she sighed. She knew she had a lot to learn at the Academy and she knew she wasn't the best fighter in the world but how did they expect her to progress if she only participated in fights where she didn't even break a sweat? She had thrown two punches and he was on the floor.

She turned and watched the rest of the class sloppily punch each other without much enthusiasm, "Lieutenant!" She called, earning a few groans and 'not again's from the others. She ignored them and focused her eyes on the seething man on the other side of the room, "You can't expect us to just know how to fight, you need to teach us technique!"

Up raised an eyebrow and walked over to her from where he was observing in the corner, "Oh, I'm sorry, I had forgotten that you were qualified to teach a class and knew exactly how to run one. I _was _observing what skills you all already possessed but if you feel like _you _could teach the class better then be my guest." He stood back sweeping his arm behind him, signifying the class was hers. She stood back in shock, feeling blood rush to her face. When she didn't step forward, he smirked, "Don't want to take it? No? Then stop interrupting my lesson Cadet Lopez or I will be forced to remove you. Fall in everyone."

She scowled and moved into line with the others and he began to explain the correct stance, basic punch and kick techniques and how to block them. After a long-ass explanation involving some whimpering cadets as Up used them for examples, he called for them to spilt and spar with another person. "Lopez." He called as he saw her wander off to wait for the last person to not have a partner, "Since you think you're so experienced, you can fight me."

The class erupted into mutters, a Lieutenant fighting a first-year cadet? On their very first day no less! Nobody dared mention that the Lieutenant had taken a very unorthodox method in teaching them and Taz stood rooted to the spot for a while, eyes drilling into his. He offered her a small smirk and stood back onto the mat, waiting for her. She couldn't let him win by refusing to fight him, her pride wouldn't let her do that but, as much as it pained her to admit, there was no way that she would win in a fight against him. She doubted very much that he would go easy on her.

As he watched her fight her hesitation he allowed himself a brief moment of thought and scolded himself for what he had said. There was no doubt in his mind that he wanted to hurt the girl but he had always, _always _been able to control his anger around people he hated. He pushed her Uncles' voices out of his head but Drane's voice slowly reached him anyway. _"Lieutenant, I know you're not a man to be reasoned with but if you send Tazia Lopez to me hurt in anyway because of your hand, there will be consequences." _He had scoffed and rolled his eyes, believing that Drane couldn't lay a hand on him but he also _had _agreed to what he said and now he had just invited her onto the mat to get the shit beaten out of her. _Smart move, Up. _He inwardly sighed but allowed his smirk to grow when he saw her hesitation. _I always win. _

Much to his surprise (although he would never show it) Taz's shocked look settled into a scowl and she stepped up to the mat looking him straight in the eyes. She kept doing that, he noticed, looking him dead in the eye, pretending she wasn't afraid of him although he knew that he terrified her. She infuriated him to no-end and he began to think that if he finally let his frustrations out on her, she would get out of his mind. Every arrogant and annoying thing she had said or done to him when he rescued her kept playing over and over in his head as he tried to work out how one girl could affect him so much. He cracked his knuckled and let a sneer grace his features.

She hadn't known him very long but Taz had already decided that she hated the Lieutenant. She felt a bolt of fear shoot through her at the look on his face. Though she knew it was probably illegal for him to kill her, she really feared for her life. She settled back into her stance and watched as he did the same, a mad glint in his eye. She eyed up his stance and checked for weak spots just like he had taught them (and she hated that she had to use his own advice to fight him). When she couldn't find any she sighed very quietly and settled on dodging his attacks for as long as possible. He smirked as he saw the barely-there resignation in her eyes and clenched his fists tighter together. This was going to be very satisfying.

The rest of the class had forgotten about their own fights and had gathered around the mat eagerly awaiting the 6-foot giant take on the 5-foot Mexican _chica. _"Dead-God," someone muttered, "It's like David and Goliath." There were some snickers that were ignored by the pair on the mat.

"Yeah," someone else replied quietly, "And we all remember who won that fight, don't we?" There were murmurs of approval but one boy braved a beating and yelled,

"But, Sir! You'll murder her!" Up slowly circled Taz, watching as she almost stumbled trying not to cross her legs and laughed coldly.

"Don't worry, Cadet. I'm not legally allowed to kill her. If I knock her out, I'm sure one of you will take her to the medical bay!" Taz gulped as unnoticeably as she could and studied Up's movements. His eyes were locked on hers and for the tiniest moment she allowed herself to realise how blue his eyes really were. Quickly shaking that _muy extraño_ thought out of her mind she focused on his movements instead. His fist came out of nowhere, one second she was staring at him, the next she was staring at the ceiling, flat on her back. She rubbed her stomach and winced when she already felt a bruise coming up. For the second time that day he had knocked the wind out of her and she lay there trying to imagine a way, _any _way for her to beat him. "Come on, cadet, GET BACK UP! Get up! You're not going to win with your arse on the ground are you? No!"

Gritting her teeth, she shoved herself up and got back into stance, already anticipating his next move and just managing to dodge it. He growled as his punch reached nothing but the air and sent a punch towards her head. He watched with furious surprise as she yet again ducked his attack quickly, his fist skimming past her hair. Reminding himself he wasn't allowed to kill her he sent a kick in her direction, hoping to put her off but she lifted her legs and jumped, seemingly one step ahead of him each time. It was like she was reading his mind. She kept skipping past his punches and kicks, infuriating him more and more, before he finally burst,

"This is all very good, Lopez, but what are you going to do? Dance a robot to death? Fight back, dead-Goddammit!" He growled and kicked out again only to be met with another dodge.

"Shut up, idiot!" She screamed, skilfully ducking underneath another punch, "You know full-well I can't place a hit on you!"

He yelled and finally swept her feet from under her, "I AM YOUR SUPERIOR AND YOU WILL RESPECT THAT! NOW GET THE FUCK UP AND PUNCH ME!" She lay on the floor, terrified as she watched his contorted face drop back into his usual scowl. She groaned, hoisted herself up and aimed a feeble punch at his arm. He grabbed it, spun her around and twisted it painfully, just like she had done earlier to her sparring partner, she allowed herself a quick feeling of sorrow for hurting him in the way she was being hurt. She didn't allow herself to cry out but she realised with a start that he was actually going easy on her before. He lowered his mouth to her ear and hissed, "You are _weak, _Cadet. Nothing but weak. The _only _reason you are here is because you have nowhere else to go. Because Herson took pity on you. Believe me, girl, if he hadn't had found us, I would've happily left you there." She whimpered inaudibly and he shoved her to the ground. "Class dismissed."

* * *

**Yeah, so, how are you guys feeling about mean!Up? And the fact they hate each other, though, of course, I am a hardcore TUp shipper, I really do like this idea! And I LOVE writing mean!Up :D**

**Okay, please review? xD**


	5. You've Got a Friend in Me

**Okay, I spent most of the day working on this because I felt bad for not updating sooner on chapter 4! It's also my longest chapter so y'all are welcome! I am sooo freeaking tired omg. Anyways, I have nothing important to say, so enjoy!**

**Well shit, have I been putting disclaimers on each chapter? UGH. I DON'T OWN TAZ, UP, THE G.L.E.E OR STARSHIP BUT ALL OCS ARE 100% MINE!**

* * *

_Meet me at my place, the fortress of friendship.  
I want to be your friend forever.  
I want to see the Eiffel Tower.  
With the power of a super friend, you're never alone.  
- Super Friends, Starkid_

* * *

The rest of the class stared numbly at his retreating back, was he serious? They'd only been in class for an hour, two hours tops. They were scheduled to have him for the rest of the day so they couldn't decide whether or not this was some kind of weird test. The cadets all stared around at each other to see if anyone had to answer about what they were supposed to do. Everyone ignored the small girl breathing heavily on the floor, everyone but one boy who was staring intently at her, not even bothering to wonder about the Lieutenant.

Just as the Lieutenant had reached the door one cadet sprang into action and cried, "But, Sir! We're supposed to have combat all day!" Everyone else turned around to face him with incredulous expressions on their faces; the boy himself had turned white as if he also couldn't believe he had questioned the Lieutenant's orders, but what else was he supposed to do? If it was a test and he failed he would have been in deep shit.

Unfortunately for the young boy, Up was still infuriated with Taz, his entire upper torso was rocking with anger so the second the cadet spoke up he spun around and marched up to him. He pointed a shaking finger in boy's face, just barely relishing the look of absolute terror, and screamed, "And I've given you the rest of the day off! What's your name, boy?"

"Sanchez, sir, Daniel Sanchez." The boy squeaked out, quaking in his boots. Up was still pushing his face uncomfortably close to Daniel's and he was careful about what he said to him lest he get head-butted.

"Well, Sanchez, are you questioning my authority?" Up asked, just as terrifyingly calm as he was with Taz earlier in the day,

"No, Sir!" Cried Daniel, a bit too quickly, "I was – I just wanted to know what we should do now?"

Up's eyes narrowed as he regarded the young recruit, "Whatever the fuck you kids want to do, I am no longer babysitting you idiots."

Daniel nodded quickly, taking several quick steps away from him and quickly averting his eyes at the floor. He stayed there, wondering if there was a way to subtly cry without the others noticing, and vowing to never speak to the Lieutenant without being spoken to again.

Up stormed out of the hall, sparing only Taz one more glance, before he slammed the doors shut behind him. The class let out a simultaneous sigh of relief when the sound of his footsteps gradually faded away and there were certain of their safety.

"Are you insane, Sanchez?" Yelled out one of the truck-like cadets, "Even I wouldn't have done that and I'm, like, twice the size of you! Jesus Christ!"

Daniel turned to the boy and regarded him critically, "I have never been more scared in my life, Chris, I almost shit my fucking pants."

As easily as that, the tension and terror in the room evaporated as Chris cracked up laughing and slapped Daniel on the shoulder roughly, "At least you lived to tell the tale! In 60 years your grandchildren will be huddled around your feet and you'll be able to say 'Why yes, kids, I did challenge the legendary Lieutenant Up and, no, he never laid a hand on me' and they will look at you in wonder and think you're the coolest granddad in the whole world."

"I think you're over-dramatizing that just a small amount, Chris." The boys turned to face the other cadet who had been busy staring at Taz,

"Shut up, Turner!" Laughed Daniel, aiming a punch at his arm, "I'm going to be a legend! I took on Lieutenant Up, the man who took down a Bird of Prey with his bare hands, the man who sleeps on a bed of fire, the man who makes onions cry, _and he didn't kill me_!" Clearly they were joking but the boy, Turner, felt a misplaced sense of anger shoot through him.

"You think you're so tough, Sanchez?" He growled, "What about her?" He shoved a thumb in the direction of Taz who was now sitting on the floor, checking for injuries, "She _actually _took Goliath on and survived. If anything, _she's _going to be the legend!"

Chris and Daniel raised their eyebrows slightly and smirked at each other, "Got a crush, Turner?" Chris mocked, a little too loudly. He fluttered his eyelashes and made a pout in Taz's direction. "Yeah, I see what you mean, Turner. Underneath the scowl and the sweat and the blood, I reckon she'd be a bit of a looker. You better watch out, you may have some competition."

The boy named Turner looked stricken as Chris winked at him and pulled Daniel out of the hall, leaving him and Taz alone. He turned his attention back to her and watched as she gingerly picked herself off the ground. Her face was bright red and he couldn't decide whether it was because of the humiliation of being beaten by Lieutenant Up (though he thought that there was nothing to be embarrassed about, she was a hero) or whether it was because she had heard everything Chris had just said. He prayed to Dead-God it was the former.

Taz almost winced when she felt her injuries anew when she stood back up, a bit woozy from when she hit the back of her head on the floor when Lieutenant Up had swept her off her feet. She had vaguely heard the boys talking about her but she had just learnt to tune others out so she had just assumed they were being cruel about her, she was used to it by now. She began walking towards the door, desperately trying not to limp as she had realised that there was one other cadet still in the hall with her despite the fact that the others had piled out as soon as they had deemed it safe.

Just as she got to the door, however, she was stopped by a voice, "Hey!" She inwardly groaned, all she wanted to do was to go back to her room and to take a long bubble bath, not that she'd tell anyone that. She turned reluctantly and realised that the boy who had stayed behind was the same boy who had worried about Taz's safety before the fight with Up. She smiled slightly, though she doubted that his concern was for _her _and more for the fact that she was small, and a girl. Her smile dropped into a scowl immediately.

She watched him raise his hand slightly and realised that he held a water bottle and was offering it to her. Her face crumpled in confusion and he chuckled slightly, "Catch." He threw the bottle the short distance between them and was mildly impressed at how fast her reactions were. Then again she had done nothing _but _impress him since she had stormed through the hall doors and stood deathly still, glaring at the wall. He'd known who she was instantly, of course he did, everyone knew who she was. He never thought she would be as beautiful, and as tough, as she actually was. She still looked confused as she popped open the lid.

"Is this poisoned?"

He laughed and crossed the hall, clapping her on her shoulder, "No! What do you take me for?"

She took a sip and shrugged, "_No s__é__. _I don't know you." She seemed to deem the water safe enough for her to drink as she quickly took two massive gulps. He smirked slightly at her.

"Ever heard of blind trust?" She raised an eyebrow and he back-pedalled, "Okay!" He laughed, reaching out to take the bottle she offered him, "No blind trust, then. I'm Ant Turner and I definitely do not poison people's drinks." He reached his hand out towards her, almost desperate to feel her skin again his.

She nodded but ignored his outstretched hand and began to walk away, "Taz Lopez and I definitely do not trust people I have just met."

He walked after her, intrigued by her reaction, "Hey, do you feel okay? I saw you hit you head pretty hard on the floor. You're not feeling faint, are you? You should probably go to the medical bay. Do you want me to take you? It's no trouble, shall we go now?"

"Ant? Shut up." Ant quickly closed his mouth, mid-rant and looked expectantly at her, "_Uno, _I am fine, one little bump to the head isn't enough to bring me down. _Y dos, _my uncle is the new head doctor and I'm pretty sure he'd flip his shit if I turned up there on my first day." She began to walk away, hoping that he would leave her alone but she was disappointed.

His voice pulled her back and she turned back around to face him, exasperated. "Your uncle works here? That's so cool! Hey, you should totally come and hang out with me and my friends, I mean, unless you already have other friends?" She shook her head, slightly annoyed, and he continued, "Great! I mean, not great but it's great that you can come hang out with us, I mean-"

"_¡__Dios_!" She exclaimed, "Do you come with an off-switch?" He was silenced and grinned sheepishly at her, reddening slightly, "Seriously, do you talk like that all the time?"

"Uh- I guess?" He replied, "I mean, no one has ever picked me up on it so…" He trailed off as he watched Taz roll her eyes and walk out of the hall.

He ran after her, keeping pace with her quick steps, "Taz, wait! Is that a yes?"

She sighed and walked faster, groaning when he sped up as well. "No, _idiota, _it's a 'leave me alone'."

She tried to escape by quickly turning down some random corridor but he still followed her, "Oh, come on! What else are you going to do?"

"I don't know but I'm sure it's more fun than 'hanging out' with a bunch of _idiota _18 year olds."

"Actually, Rico's 19. He's the year above." He stated as if that would persuade Taz to join him,

"Ant, go away before I punch you."

"Aw, come on, I doubt you'll really do that." He grinned irresistibly in her direction and she raised her eyebrows, hadn't he _just _seen her take on Lieutenant Up? She sighed slightly and slammed her fist into his face, surprising him. He stumbled and rubbed his cheek ruefully, looking a bit terrified of her. She smirked, _good_, that's how she wanted all the idiot cadets to look at her.

"Okay, so you're a scary girl who can pack a punch – will you come and meet the others now?"

She moaned and rubbed her temples, taking the water bottle from his hands and taking another sip she asked, "Why are you doing this? Surely you've got enough friends."

He grabbed her wrist to stop her walking away, "Yes but I don't think you do and I want to be your friend, it's been a while since I've seen a chick put up a fight like that and the way you pissed off the Lieutenant?" He quickly checked around his shoulder to check Up wasn't lurking around, "It was totally awesome!"

"Trust me," she sighed, "You don't want to be friends with me, people tend to hate me." She passed his bottle back and tried to walk away again. Due to the random route she had taken to get away from Ant, she had no idea where she was and all she wanted to do was to find her way back to the room. But he persisted.

"I don't care what other people think! Please? I reckon you'll really like meeting the others."

"You have no idea what I like or don't like, _idiota._"

He sighed, "Look, if you didn't want to come back you would've left already."

"That's what I've been trying to do for that past 5 minutes but some delusional _idiota _has it in his head that meeting _friends _is what's best for me."

"Well, actually, it probably is." She raised her eyebrow and stared coldly at him; he stumbled a bit but continued, "I mean… you're the youngest Cadet _ever _to be let into the Academy, one of the very few girls _and _the only girl taking combat. I don't want to scare you but some people aren't going to take that… there's going to be trouble. Don't you want support?"

"Bullies don't scare me, _estupido, _don't you remember me telling you that people tended to hate me?"

Ant nodded slowly, "Yes, but I don't care about that and I want to help you. Obviously it looks like you can handle yourself, I mean, there must be a reason why you're in combat. Please? The guys would love to meet you and having friends couldn't hurt could it?"

Taz sighed and nodded, too tired to argue with Ant anymore. Besides, even though she hated to admit it, she really did want someone to talk to, who wasn't her uncle, and she wasn't the best at making friends with people. Ant was giving her a group on a silver platter. "Fine, _ese_, I'll meet your _estupido _friends."

He grinned and started pulling her in the opposite direction towards his room, "Word of warning, don't call them 'stupid' they may not like that."

"Let go of me!" She yanked her hand free and glared at him, "I'll call them whatever the hell I want, you got that?"

He nodded quickly and turned her down a hall that she noticed, with a start, was also her own. Maybe having Ant around wasn't so bad, if only to use him as a map. She saw that her room was literally opposite his and she pulled back slightly.

He looked at her in confusion and she nodded towards her door, walking slowly back, "I promise I'll be back, can I just shower and change first? I smell like an old gym."

Ant, who wouldn't have noticed if she had rolled around in pig manure, nodded excitedly, "Yes, that's totally fine! Hey man, how awesome is it that our dorms are, like, opposite each other? We can visit each other all we like!" His enthusiasm made her eyes widen and he noticed the panic in the immediately, "Y'know…" He mumbled, embarrassed, "Maybe after we've gotten to know each other."

Her eyes soften slightly and she nodded, "Give me five minutes." He grinned at her and all-but ran into his room. She rolled her eyes slightly and let herself into hers.

As she stood in the shower, revelling in the hotness of the water, she allowed her thoughts to travel back to Ant. He was extremely good-looking, well-built and a good head taller than her but that didn't stop her noticing the gorgeous colour of his steel-grey eyes. She shook her head and muttered insults to herself; it wouldn't do good to lose it over a guy on her very first day here. She was already busy hating on Lieutenant Up.

Still, she couldn't help remember the way his dark brown hair had slightly flopped in front of his eyes as he smiled down at her.

This was bad.

* * *

On the other side of the hall, Ant was chatting excitedly to the other four occupants of the room.

"…and she's _gorgeous_. Like, no not gorgeous, she's beautiful, properly beautiful, as well. Not orange, false-eyelash'd beautiful. _Naturally _beautiful. No offence, Claire." He added in a quick side-note to the blonde girl on the counter, she grinned quickly,

"None taken, honey," She drawled in a golden southern-honey voice, "I always knew you wouldn't want someone like me." She winked at him and he blushed. "I am, like, so totally excited to meet her, she is the _coolest_!"

Ant was about to reply when he was cut off by a knock at the door. "She's here! How do I look?"

Claire rolled her eyes, "Don't be an idiot, Ant! Answer the door!" He nodded and quickly ran over to open the door, revealing the 5-foot Mexican princess in grey shorts and a white tank-top. She had pulled her long raven hair into a messy plait hanging loosely behind her back.

"_Hola, idiota. _Can I come in?" She raised her eyebrows at Ant who had stood at the door for a full 10 seconds, just staring at her.

"_Ant!" _Came a hiss from inside the room, and Taz looked impatient.

Ant finally jumped into action and stood aside to let her in, "Hey guys! This is Taz Lopez, the youngest cadet to be let into the Academy. _Ever_." Taz rolled her eyes and elbowed him in the ribs, _hard,_ making him lean over and cough loudly,

"_Idiota, _you better not introduce me like that every time." Ant just grinned and just turned his attention to the group, ready to introduce individual people.

Taz eyed the four teenagers spread out in their respective places in Ant's dorm and couldn't help but feel a little intimidated. She was immediately glad it was Ant who had befriended her, it seemed like he was the leader of the small group and she had a feeling that that would help her fit in a lot more quickly. She regarded Claire, a pretty blonde girl who looked like she belonged on a catwalk rather than in the G.L.E.E's Academy, sitting upon a small kitchen table-top with her legs crossed and was surprised by the kind smile on her face. Usually girls who looked like her were such bitches. Taz turned her attention to the red-head girl who was leaning against the door frame that seemed to lead into a bedroom; she wasn't as pretty as Claire but that didn't mean she wasn't beautiful. Taz was beginning to feel very inferior, there was a reason she'd mainly hung out with guys in Mexico.

There were two guys sitting on the couch with controllers in their hands with whatever video game they were playing paused on the TV in front of them. Taz recognized the smaller, paler one to be the cadet she had defeated earlier and quickly sent him an apologetic look and he smiled back in forgiveness.

"_Hola_." Taz nodded, feigning bravery although her confidence wavered underneath the others' gaze.

Finally, the other boy stood up and made his way over to her. He was very tall, even taller than Ant who was looming over her like some sky-scraper, and he had very dark skin. His eyes were almost as dark as hers and Taz assumed that he was of some sort of Hispanic descent. He looked painfully similar to Carlos and her heart clenched slightly. She had to look away quickly but when she looked back at him she saw major differences in the boys' appearances. Carlos didn't have as straight a nose as the boy in front of her. Carlos was darker. Carlos had darker eyes than him. Her suspicions were confirmed when he said, "_Hola. ¿Es usted Mexicano?_" When she nodded still pointing out differences between him and her dead best friend, he grinned and continued, _"¿De qué ciudad?_"

"_Martínez de la Torre. __¿__Y t__ú__?_" Her heart began beating faster as they began talking of Mexico and her old town. The boy's grin grew and he said,

"Ah! _Veracruz_! _Yo soy de Copala._" He raised his eyebrows at her as if he was daring her not to know where it was.

Taz nodded and added, "Ah! _Mazatlan_!"

The boy laughed and held out his hand, "_Soy Rico, es un placer conocerte, mi hermana Mexicana."_

She took it with a roll of her eyes and said, "_Me arrastraron hasta aquí,_" She muttered, shoving a thumb in Ant's direction, "_Yo no quería__conocer a gente._"

Rico laughed and clapped her on the shoulder, "_No lo culpo, usted aprenderá a amarnos._"

Ant, paranoid after he realised Taz was probably bad-mouthing him, interrupted the conversation, much to the others' relief, "Not that it isn't lovely that you're making friends Taz," She shot him a glare, "But what are you two talking about?"

Rico raised his eyebrow and answered, "What a lovely guy you are, Ant. What else?" He winked at Taz and she smirked a little.

Ant just rolled his eyes and moved over to stand in the middle of the living room area, "Highly unlikely, she's made her dislike for me very clear."

Taz's smirk grew and she countered, "I never said I didn't like you, I implied you may annoy me at times…" She trailed off and grinned at Ant as he rolled his eyes.

"So calling me _'idiota' _wasn't an insult?" He argued, raising his eyebrows.

"A friendly insult!"

"Was it a friendly insult when you called Lieutenant Up it?" Immediately her grin dropped and was replaced by a ferocious glare.

"No."

Ant realised he made a mistake and turned to the boy on the sofa for help. Taz rolled her eyes and allowed Rico to usher her to sit on the sofa next to him. The blonde girl jumped off the counter and stood directly in front of Taz, "Hello, sugar! I'm Claire! You're, like, so cool, you know that? I mean, you're all everyone's been talking about! Youngest cadet _ever _AND you're a girl! It's _so _awesome, I'm so glad I've met you! I can just _tell _we're going to be great friends!"

Noticing Taz's look of panic Ant interrupted again, "Claire, calm it just a tad will you? Don't want to scare her off now." He shot her a dangerous look that Taz couldn't interpret.

Claire just laughed, "Scare her off?" She wedged herself down on the sofa next to Taz, forcing the other boy from Taz's combat class to get off the sofa with a roll of his eyes, "She's the toughest girl, like, _ever_. I heard you took on Lieutenant Up. He's scary but _so _hot, don't you think Taz?"

Taz, a little petrified, just stared dumbly at Claire. That big _intimidar _attractive? She wanted to throw up at the idea, "I wouldn't call him _caliente…_" She began, looking angry, "More like _un pendejo que realmente necesita para saltar a un grupo de robots, sin un zapper." _Claire's forehead crumpled in confusion but Rico laughed out loud,

"So I can assume there's no love lost between you and the Lieutenant?" She grinned at him and rolled her eyes.

Claire scrunched up her nose and continued, "But _look _at him! He's so big and strong and his eyes are to _die _for." Taz felt a blush quickly rise to her face as she remembered her brief lapse in sanity when she _had_, in fact, noticed how gorgeous his eyes were.

Taz was about to reply when Ant stepped in and started introducing the other two, "This here is Amy, smartest girl in the year, I swear she'll get you out of any mess you're in and then probably clean up after you leave." The girl in question walked to stand next to Ant whilst blushing to the roots of her very red head. Her eyes were bright green and Taz noted quickly that she had never actually seen green eyes except for in movies, they intrigued her. Amy waved quickly,

"Hi, it's nice to meet you." Her voice was very small and quiet and everything Taz had already expected from her, she nodded back politely, still mesmerized by her eyes, and turned her attention to the last member of the group. She felt slightly guilty, yet again, at seeing the small, nerdy guy holding onto a controller, there was really no need for her to go so hard on him in combat.

"And this here is my twin brother, Ben." Taz raised her eyes at the obvious difference between the two. While Ant was tall, dark-haired and one of the most gorgeous guys Taz had ever seen (though she would never admit that to him), Ben was shorter with mousy brown hair and glasses. The only thing that marked them as brothers were their eyes and Taz, once again, was lost in the strange steel-grey eyes.

"Fraternal." Ben said as he stuck out his hand to shake hers.

"Yeah, no shit." She muttered, earning laughs from the others and a grin from Ben. She shook his hand and was glad that he didn't seem to be bitter about her kicking his ass earlier that day.

"So, tell me." Rico said, stretching his arms behind the sofa and looking at Taz, "What the hell did you do to piss Lieutenant Up off so much? I mean, I know he's an asshole and everything but going by the rumours I've heard about him, he has never wasted time on one individual person. He just hates the Universe, y'know? But Ben said that he went completely ape-shit with you. So spill. Did you sleep with him and never call him back?" This earned a snort from Taz and he raised his eyebrow, "Okay, no one-night-stand then. Good, you're too young." He grinned at her as she punched him in the arm, "Did you eat the last burger in the mess hall? Oh hell no, girl. You deserve his hate!" Taz cracked up laughing along with the rest of the room.

"No, I definitely did not eat the last burger, his anger his completely irrational." Taz rolled her eyes and leaned against the arm of the sofa, the group's attention on her, "He's angry because he thought he did me a favour by only saving me when the robots attacked my village and letting my entire family die. I mean, he's a Starship Ranger, right? The reason I joined is to _save people _and yet all he could was to pull me half-dead out of a tree after the robots had almost bludgeoned me to death. And he's angry that Herson, my uncle, got me into the Academy even though I would've joined in three years. He thinks I'm not tough enough. He's such an _idiota._"

Rico nodded sympathetically, "I'm sorry about your family, I heard about the attack on _Martínez de la Torre _yesterday. My village was destroyed too. Are you okay?"

Taz, misty eyed, just nodded and turned her attention to Ant, pleading with him with her eyes to change the topic,

"You should have seen him today, guys, it was horrible. Wasn't it Ben? He really showed her no mercy; I thought he was going to break her arm." Ben nodded in agreement, smirking slightly at Taz, reminding her that she had done the same to him, while the other three looked worried,

"Nothing I couldn't handle," Taz muttered, averting her gaze.

"You did great, even if you didn't land a punch on him. I've never seen anyone get that angry before. She was dancing away from his punches like nobody's business."

The others nodded in approval as Claire said, "I just don't get why he's so angry all the time, I mean everyone's afraid of him, doesn't he want any friends? _Everyone _needs friends! I don't know where I'd be without you guys!"

Rico shook his head, "He's the best damn ranger in the entire G.L.E.E, you don't get to that rank, that fast by making friends." Taz tilted her head in his direction in confusion, "Lieutenant Up's only 24. He was promoted to Lieutenant last year; it only took him two years to get there." Taz thought about the Lieutenant's brown hair which was peppered with grey and wondered what the hell had happened to cause him to go grey at such an early age. She couldn't believe he was only nine years older than her.

"So, how do you guys know each other? It's only the first day of the Academy." Taz wondered, looking between Ant and Rico for the answer. Surprisingly, Amy spoke up.

"We've all been on the ship for about three months, you arrived late, and I'm surprised they managed to find a room for you at all. We had to get here at the end of our compulsory schooling down on Earth, to settle in, learn the ship, that kind of thing. Rico was showing our group around which just so happened to hold all of us. We've been inseparable ever since." The others grinned and nodded their heads.

Taz leaned back into the sofa and stared at them, "I have a feeling that I'm stuck with you guys, aren't I?"

The others laughed and nodded. She grinned in actual happiness and began to think that maybe joining Ant's friendship group wasn't too bad. She watched as Claire got up off the sofa next to her and sent Ant a pointed glance. Ant looked mortified as Taz's forehead crumpled in confusion; she turned to Rico, sensing an awkward situation that she probably shouldn't mention.

"So, Lieutenant Up is always this horrible?" She hinted, shamelessly gossiping about the man who hated her guts.

"Well actually, apparently he used to be really nice. I mean, he was always really tough and he showed no mercy but he did have friends and had laughs and everything. Actually he was a bit like you." Taz felt white-hot anger shoot through her, she was sick of everyone, herself especially, comparing her to that _gillipollas. _She was nothing like him and she never would be. Rico sensed her anger and quickly back-tracked, "Dude, no, I mean, that was a compliment! As much of an asshole he is now, he never used to be _and _he's the best ranger the G.L.E.E has to offer!"

Taz sighed and let it go, "So, he used to have friends?"

Rico sighed in relief and continued, "Yeah, I mean he wasn't overly popular or anything but nobody disliked him. Last year this Ensign came to the Academy with his ship and was telling anyone who would listen that the Lieutenant used to be his best friend when they were at the Academy. He said that the war had completely ruined him and that nothing would ever bring him back. I guess the Lieutenant's ambition for power completely overruled his need for friends."

_Or it was the ambition to kill every damn robot in the Universe. _Taz's subconscious added but Taz shook that away quickly. Why was her mind so determined to prove that the Lieutenant was actually a good-guy… or anything like her?

"When he saved me I'm pretty sure he would've had no qualms about murdering me. I mean, he knew nothing about me, right? But he was still okay with hitting a fifteen-year-old girl who had just lost her family. I mean, of course I could handle it but if my uncle hadn't come over and stopped us fighting I reckon he would've just left me to the robots."

Claire gasped over-dramatically and ran over to hug Taz who stiffen slightly before tapping the girl on the arm, "He hit you?"

"It was nothing, Claire, really. I'mfine, physically. It's just the principle of the matter! 24 year old men don't go around beating 15 year old girls!"

The group nodded in agreement before Ben spoke up, "I can't believe you are only 15, Taz. I was talking to Ant about it yesterday. I mean, we never believed the rumours that you slept your way in." Taz shot him a glare, "But we thought you must've been like some sort of Amazon or something, but it's so much cooler that you're just so… normal, y'know? I can't wait for combat classes just to see you and Lieutenant Up fighting."

Ant nodded in agreement, his eyes lighting up, "It was so freaking awesome, Taz. You're amazing!"

Taz offered him a bemused smile as he flushed bright red and the rest of the room grinned knowingly at him. Pushing it aside, she glanced at the still-paused video game, "So, other than gaming what do you guys like to do here, for fun?"

Rico grinned, "How about a swim?" The other's looked around at each other, their eyes glinting.

"…a swim? I was speaking like the cinema or ice-skating or… something."

The others laughed and began standing up, "Trust me, Taz." Rico said, "You're really going to enjoy this, do you have a swimsuit?"

* * *

Ten minutes later Taz was standing in front of a massive swimming pool that had been designed to look like a lake. Rico had showed her how to manipulate their surroundings into whatever place they would like it to be. Taz was currently standing in the middle of a rainforest; she could hear the noise of the animals and even taste the humidity in the air. The pool, the lake, was shining still until Amy flicked a switch and the entire lake was immediately covered in bubbles.

"_¡__Santo mierda!_" Taz cried, leaning forward to look at the water, "It's like a massive-assed Jacuzzi! This is incredible!"

Ant laughed and came to stand next to her, clad only in black swimming trunks. Taz almost-blushed and turned her head away. Ant's body was unbelievably amazing and tanned and Taz was getting more and more frustrated with her teenage-girl reactions. Rico just grinned at her, grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the large cliff that was hanging above the water.

"Last one to the top has to clean my laundry for a week!" Rico called behind his shoulder, already pushing Taz in front of him so there wasn't a chance she could lose. Taz rolled her eyes and grinned as she raced Rico to the edge of the cliff.

Unsurprisingly, Claire came trailing behind them complaining about how she couldn't run because she would mess up her hair. She pouted her pink lips in Rico's direction and he told her that she didn't _really_ have to clean his laundry.

Taz raised her eyebrows and leaned over to Rico, "Why do I get the feeling that if any of us came last you wouldn't let us off?"

Rico coughed, embarrassed, and looked away, "What? She's hot." When Taz began giggling, he picked her up and yelled 'Shut up, Lopez!' before chucking her off the cliff and into the water far below. Taz screamed slightly and quickly rearranged her body into a perfect diving position just before she hit the surprising but not unwelcome cold water. The water felt perfect on her skin which had become sticky with the humidity and she swam underwater for a while before she faintly heard the sounds of five more people jumping into the water.

She emerged, spluttering as the bubbles found their way up her nose, and swam over to the group.

"Taz!" Ant cried, "Me and the boys are having a competition and I need you to cheer for me! Ben has Amy and Rico has Claire!"

As she was passing Rico she whispered, "Rico wishes he had Claire." He dunked her under the water, his cheeks reddening at an alarming pace.

Laughing as her head raised out from the water, Taz called over to Ant, "So you're telling me that I'm not allowed to participate in the race because I'm a girl and the only thing I'm good for is to be your cheerleader? That's rather sexist, don't you think?"

Taz dropped her face into a stern look and fixed it on him, fighting to urge to laugh as she watched his face drop and pale immediately. "No, wait Taz! I didn't mean it like that! You can totally join in if you want! I'll even cheer for _you _if you want!" At this Taz could no longer keep a straight face and burst out laughing. Ant's face relaxed into an embarrassed smile as he realised that Taz was just playing him.

"Don't worry, _idiota. _I'll be your cheerleader." Rico wolf-whistled behind her in revenge, earning a glare from both Ant and Taz. They shared an awkward smile before Taz clambered up on a small rock beside Claire and Amy.

"Right, boys, you know the rules!" Amy called, bathing herself in the artificial sunlight that filtered through the artificial trees. "It's two lengths of the lake, and no cheating, we'll see!" Taz eyed the length of the lake and decided that it would take the group a while before they made it back to the girls.

"And, GO!" Claire yelled, waving a leaf down to signify the start of the race.

As it turns out, 'cheering' for Ant didn't actually involve any cheering. It mainly involved girl-talk with Amy and Claire.

"Oh, he's so gorgeous." Claire swooned, watching as Rico's tanned body disappeared and reappeared as he did the butterfly stroke.

"Yeah…" The other two girls sighed, eyes on their own guy. Taz jumped with a start at what she said and shot a look to Claire,

"Wait, what? Who are you talking about? I don't think anyone's hot." Claire shot her a knowing smirk while Amy just looked at her sympathetically, obviously not meaning to admit her feelings towards Ben.

"Rico, of course! He's amazing! Why," she teased, already knowing the answer, "who were you talking about?"

Taz flushed and changed the subject quickly, "So what's going on between you and Rico?"

Claire, happy to talk about herself, sighed and said, "I don't even know. I mean, I've known the guy for three months tops, right? So it's not as if we know everything about each other but he just gets me, like I'll say something totally stupid and Ant and Ben will just laugh or correct me but he looks at me like he totally understood what I was trying to say. And then there was the kiss…" She trailed off and Amy sighed slightly, "It was amazing, Taz. I've never had a kiss like it, I don't understand how I fell for him so fast but I have. There was this party in Chris' room two days before you arrived and he got _so _drunk, it was so funny. I was pretty buzzed but I was nowhere near his level of drunkenness. So, anyway, he pulls me away from the party, saying he needed to show me something and then he just pushes me up against the wall and kisses me and, oh my dead-god, Taz. I've kissed plenty of people in my time but, Jesus, that guy can _kiss._ We kissed for, like, 5 minutes before Amy here had to come out and ruin it all!"

"I thought you had passed out or something! I was being a good friend!" Amy countered, rolling her eyes at Taz. "She never shuts up about that kiss. He didn't remember a thing the next morning so she hasn't brought it up, it's so frustrating!"

Claire leaned back on her elbows just as the boys finally reached the end of the first length, "Oh yeah, what about you Miss 'Ben-doesn't-even-know-I-exist'? That boy is smitten for you! He lets you win on Mario Cart even though you _know _he hates losing! Jesus, Amy!"

"Okay!" Taz butt in, assuming that this wasn't the first time they had had this fight, "So you both like guys who like you back but no one will do anything about it! Let's not pull each other's hair!"

Ant, who was swimming past the rock at the time, yelled from the water, "NO WET BIKINI GIRL FIGHTS UNTIL I'M OUT OF THE WATER!"

Taz and Amy rolled their eyes while Claire laughed and yelled back, "Pervert!" She was probably a whole lot more used to those sort of comments than Taz and Amy were.

Taz found herself watching Ant's broad back quickly darting through the water and sighed slightly, she really needed to get her head sorted. Falling for a guy on her very first day was not part of the new 'tough' Taz. Then again, neither was finding a group of friends and actually having a good time with them.

"Falling for Ant already, are we, Taz?" Claire teased, waggling her eyebrows.

"Don't be stupid, Claire." Taz growled back, putting her hands behind her head and soaking up the fake-rays. "Even if I did like him, which I _don't, _it would be impossible because, one, I bet he has a load of girls over him _all _the time so he wouldn't pay any attention to me, and two, he's 18 and I'm only 15. Isn't that illegal?"

Claire was about to retaliate before she saw Rico's hand slam on the 'finish line', "WELL DONE RICO!" She screamed, almost deafening the other two girls.

The boys swam slowly over to the rock where the girls were lounging and pulled themselves up. "That bastard always freaking wins," Ant muttered, collapsing next to Taz and leaning on his elbow to look at her, "I reckon you'd beat him though, Taz! Oh my Dead-God! RICO! Race Taz!"

Rico fell down next to Claire and closed his eyes, "Next time, Taz. I'm fucking beat."

Taz nodded and closed her eyes listening to the sounds of the rainforest around her, "Ant, Ben," She began, waiting before she heard grunts signifying that they were actually listening to her, "Do we have the same timetables?"

She heard them mutter quiet 'yes's and grinned to herself, at least she wouldn't be alone anymore.

"Don't look too happy, Taz. We have calculus first tomorrow. And our teacher is Lieutenant Up."

Taz's grin dropped from her face immediately and she groaned, "Fuck. Are there any classes where that giant _cabron _doesn't interfere?"

Rico laughed while Ben said, "Most of our classes actually, it's just combat and calculus we have him for."

She sighed, "That's good I guess I wish he wasn't here at all."

"Don't worry cadet, I feel exactly the same way about you."

The six teenagers sat up in alarm, staring at Lieutenant Up who was leaning against what looked like a hole in the rainforest. Taz quickly realised that it was the door to the pool. He walked over to the controls and made it look like a regular pool again. With a sigh he also stopped the bubbles.

Taz quickly pulled on a baggy t-shirt and pulled her towel around her waist, glaring intensely at the man. Just went she was beginning to have fun, he had to come along and ruin it. She had a feeling that that would probably become a common occurrence at her time in the Academy.

"Sir, there's no rule against us being here." Rico said, shooting Taz a quick glance, she was seething.

"No, cadet, there isn't. However, I doubt the Admiral installed this pool so idiot cadets like you could lounge around in a Jacuzzi." Rico looked down in embarrassed and Up raised an eyebrow, "So you six need to get your asses out of here because people actually need to use it for its correct purposes."

As she stalked past him Taz muttered, "If they didn't want us to change it into a rainforest Jacuzzi, they shouldn't have given us the option to change it into a rainforest Jacuzzi." She had already anticipated the clip around her ear and she just rolled her eyes, she barely felt it. "_Cabron._"

"If I didn't detest your presence so much, girl, I'd give you detention." He growled in her ear, grabbing her and pulling her closer to him. She hissed him pain as he clenched hard on her arm.

"Aw, I feel so privileged, _sir_." She mocked, locking eyes with him.

He growled in her ear before pushing her away from him.

And straight into the pool.

The others gasped and Up's eyes widened momentarily before settling back into their usual glare.

Taz came back up spluttering and glaring, and after she climbed out of the pool she stormed up to him and poked a finger in his chest, "You juvenile wanker! What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Up grabbed her upper arms and pushed her away from him, his expression cold, "_You're _what's fucking wrong with me, girl. Get the fuck out of here before I make you."

"Still bitter about not being able to land a hit on me?" She hissed harshly as she ripped her arms out of his grip.

He roared and grabbed her again, pulling her flush against him with his arm raised,

"Sir!" Rico cried, terrified for Taz's safety.

Up pushed her away, refusing to acknowledge any of the kids, "Get out."

"I think we were here fi-" Began a Mexican accent before Up screamed,

"Out!"

Ant pulled Taz out of the natatorium, muttering about how insane she was. The other four quickly followed, terrified.

As soon as he heard the door slide shut behind the cadets he let out a roar of frustration. He had come to the pool because after several hours on the punching bags he still hadn't released any of his anger so he decided to come and relax with a swim.

When he had seen the kids, seen her, on the rock, discussing _him _no less, his anger flared. All he wanted was a couple of hours without her around but it seemed like that was impossible. Still, he mused, he was alone now.

He pulled his top off, kicked off his shoes and dived into the water.


	6. Our Little Secret

**Okay, okay! I know I am literally made of suck right now and I am so, so sorry! But I do have a valid reason. At the end of the school term my laptop charger broke so I've been having to use my sister's laptop all summer which does not have my chapter plans on and I only got a new charger yesterday! So, instead of writing my personal statement for university or doing a piece of coursework or reading Emma or The Taming of the Shrew, I realised my top priority was to get chapter 6 out and get it out fast! So I spent the past two days on this and I'm actually quite proud of it, it's almost 7,000 words so hopefully that'll appease you! Thank you so so much to all those who reviewed and told me to get my ass into gear, it is officially here! Please tell me what you think of it in the pretty little review box at the bottom!**

**PS. A massive hug to all those who catch the Pirates of the Caribbean reference!**

* * *

_I'm driving you crazy,  
It's my little game,  
I push you, and you push back,  
Two opposites so alike that  
Everyday's a roller coaster,  
I'm a bump you'll never get over!  
_- _Shut Up and Kiss Me, Orianthi_

* * *

Three months later found Taz sat in an old-school classroom trying desperately to understand the calculus that Lieutenant Up was barking at them from the front of the class.

"You're going to be expected to know this textbook inside and out!" He roared, storming from behind his desk to scream in the unfortunate face of Daniel Sanchez who was trying – and failing – not to look intimidated. "And you're _texting_!" He grabbed the communicator from Sanchez's not-so-subtle hiding place underneath his desk and threw it across the room. "No warnings. You cadets are training to be _Starship Rangers! _This isn't like high school anymore, kids, this is the real deal. You knew what you signed up for so I would _appreciate _it if you listened!" Sanchez nodded quickly, wondering how he had, yet again, ended up on the wrong side of Lieutenant Up. Aside from Taz, he was the most targeted student in their class.

* * *

Taz smirked and rolled her eyes as she saw the Lieutenant round up on Sanchez, _again. _While he would no doubt begin his bullshit speech about Starship Rangers, she let her mind wander. Since joining the Academy she had really excelled in all of her classes, except calculus. Unsurprisingly, combat was her best class and she had easily jumped to the top of class. Much to the displeasure of Lieutenant Up. Every combat lesson would, more often than not, lead to him making some scathing comment about her skills, or her progress, or her age, or her height, that would lead to Taz insulting him in Spanish, which would lead to Up screaming about 'respect' which, in total, would lead to a loud screaming and sparring match between the two which the rest of the class found very entertaining and it actually taught them something about fighting the enemy.

She shook her head slightly as she looked over at Lieutenant Up pacing about at the front of room, having finished with Sanchez, and talking about what looked to be a curve on a graph. She would never understand why she needed to learn this _mierda. _How would this help kick robot ass?

Sighing, she decided that she probably wouldn't make it out of the Academy alive. Not with Lieutenant Up on her back every 5 minutes.

It was safe to say that, since that disastrous first day, the relationship between the pair had not improved. If anything, it had worsened. As time went on the two began to learn little things about the other that they could use to their advantage. For example, Taz had learnt that speaking solely in Spanish was enough to make the vein in his head almost burst out of his head. They had, had many fights provoked purely because Taz was bored and Lieutenant Up hated not knowing something.

However, in retaliation, he had found her secret work out place. And had joined her.

Taz sighed as she thought about her gym; it had been so perfect until he had ruined it.

* * *

Two weeks into her training at the Academy, Taz had just said goodbye to Claire and Amy who had invited her around for a 'girl's night'. She was hesitant at first but as soon as she realised it was just watching movies and eating junk food, she wasn't too worried. She'd heard horror stories about painting each other's nails and pillow fights in their underwear, so she was just glad that it was just a casual night. After leaving Amy's room which was completely on the other side of the Academy, Taz began to wander. By this point she already knew all the nooks and crannies of the east side of the Academy, which was where her dorm was, where the mess hall was and where all her classes were but she had yet to explore the west side which was mainly accommodation and meeting rooms for superior officers.

On her travels, she came across a corridor that looked less like a dormitory corridor and more like a classroom corridor. When she asked Rico about it later he told her that, before the Robot Wars had started, they used the west side as well as the east side for teaching but when they started the Admiral decided it was best to keep the cadets in a more concentrated area while having space to shelter qualified rangers just in case of an attack.

She meandered slowly down the deserted corridor, feeling that old-time thrill of fear you get when you witness your school or your work-place dark and void of people. It's unsettling, it makes you think that something isn't quite right and it has a way of making you feel like you're the last human on the planet. Looking into one classroom, she glanced at the desk and saw some papers and pen strewn across it as if it hadn't been deserted for years and rather just for a few minutes. The sight made Taz shiver and she backed away slowly, beginning to dislike that nagging feeling in the back of her brain, the one that notices the change in the air or a silence that seems so much heavier than usual. Her more rational side could have seen the truth: that this was simply a deserted corridor that no one had visited in years. But that feeling won out, as it so often does. It was the same feeling that's present whenever you visit anything old and deserted, like a building or a theme park. The feeling that goes hand in hand with adrenaline. Taz swore she could almost hear the ghosts of the past. People had once run up and down this hall, they had been caught cutting class down this hall, some people may have even fallen in love in this hall. For a second, Taz almost saw it all.

Then, she shook her head and stood away from the classroom and let her rational side see the hall for what it really was. There was something in that action, she thought, something that changed her, ever-so slightly. The fact that she could actually turn off that feeling. It made her feel more… mature. Ready. Tough. She didn't know the correct word. All she knew was that she was no longer the girl walking down the deserted school corridor waiting for something to scare her at any moment. Then it hit her. She had been able to _stop being scared_. Just like that. No mental preparation. Just a way of looking at the hall with new eyes.

_Brave. _That was the word.

It was with this attitude that she spotted the double glass doors at the end of the hall. With a straight back and a smug smirk, she strolled down the hall and pushed the doors open. The sight she was met with was almost unbelievable. A fully-equipped gym, albeit a bit dusty, was simply sitting in the west side of the Academy, completely untouched. She began to think about the usually-crowded gym filled with perverted men making disgusting comments in her direction. It was generally the qualified rangers whose ship had simply docked at the Academy for a while and who didn't know who she was that made these comments. Even though she was probably strong enough to take them all down, individually, she was certain that if she began a fight with one of them, they would all join in.

Her brow crumpled when she thought about the time one guy had made a particularly disgusting comment and _Lieutenant Up _had sent him sprawling. She had looked at him in shock and he'd simply shrugged and turned back to his weights. It was such a fleeting moment but it weighed on Taz's mind a lot. When she saw him again, he was back to his old asshole self and it didn't even seem to bother him. They both knew she could handle herself (even if he wouldn't like to admit it) so she couldn't see why he would want to _save _her.

Shaking her head, she stepped out of the gym and practically sprinted the distance back to her room to change out of her casual weekend-wear and into her workout clothes.

* * *

One month later Taz was really reaping the benefits of a private gym. She had consulted with Herson and Drane and they had informed her that the corridor wasn't even on the virtual map as a school corridor anymore and it was simply listed as storage, so she was sure of her solitude. She made frequent trips to her gym, sometimes popping into the regular one so as to not raise suspicion.

It was after a particularly bad combat lesson that Taz found herself shoving Lieutenant Up off her body from where he had pinned her to the ground and stormed out of the lesson, not even bothering to sneak to the west side. She was so angry at him, and the fact that she had _never _beaten him in a spar before, that the journey passed in a blur and she somehow found herself beating the crap out of a punching bag. Angry tears welled up in her eyes although she refused to let them fall and she screamed in frustration.

"Nice place you got here." Lieutenant Up's ever-judgmental voice reached her ears and she almost cried in defeat.

"Fuck. Off." She spat, spinning around to fix her glare on him.

He smirked and stepped into the gym looking around, "Superior officer." He reminded her, picking up some weights and testing them. "Now, what shall I do with you?" He mocked, walking towards her.

Her heart sped up, "What do you mean, _idiota?_"

"You are aware that this is a restricted area?" His tone was conversational, almost pleasant, as if they were discussing the weather. Both knew that the storm was brewing and they would end up on the sparring mats within a matter of minutes.

"I got the 'okay' from Herson. If I remember correctly, _Lieutenant, _he's your superior officer." She stepped to the side, slowly heading towards the mats.

"The regular gym not good enough for Little Miss Princess?" He mocked, slowly following her.

She rolled her eyes, "I can't be fucked with dealing with those assholes in the gym. You should know you knocked one out."

There, it was out there in the open now, maybe she'd get some answers. His eyes flashed dangerously and Taz immediately began to regret her decision.

"Don't get any ideas, girl. I didn't knock him out for your sake; I learnt my lesson after the first time I saved you." He sent her a sickly smile and she visibly shuddered.

"Then why did you do it? As far as I could tell, he never even spoke a word to you." His eyes twitched and he began circling her. With a start Taz realised they had reached the mats. She raised her arms in protection and watched him carefully.

"Why do I have to explain myself to you?" He asked slowly, watching her every move.

She grinned slightly, "Because if you don't, I might think you actually like me."

He lunged at her, grabbing her around the waist and then sitting up to pin her arms to the ground. He had learnt a lot about her in the month he had been forced to teach her and he realised that simply hurting her didn't faze her. Being pinned and trapped on the ground, unable to move, infuriated her.

"_Bajar, idiota! ¿Qué es lo que te pasa? Lucha contra mí como un hombre y me ponche!" _She screamed, struggling to get his weight off her small body. She could completely defeat him in speed but, in strength, he always had the upper hand.

She did the only thing that frustrated him most: she spoke entirely in Spanish. She hoped that he would get so angry he would throw a punch and let her up.

Instead, he just grinned down at her, his face centimetres away from hers and she suddenly got an idea. A disgusting idea, admittedly, but a guaranteed way to get him off her.

She spat in his face.

He roared and shot off her, wiping his face, looking outraged. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"_You _wouldn't get off me just because _you _like me and don't want to admit it!" She teased, laughing slightly. She knew she was being very childish but there was something about him that brought that side out of her.

"Right, that's it. We're fighting right now. Not sparring, this is a real fight. Reckon you can handle that, Lopez?" He teased, his eyes narrowing with anger.

"I've got a better idea!" She said, faking excitement, "You can fuck off and I can continue working out!"

She was turning to walk away and start on the punching bag again when she felt his hand on her arm, spinning her back around and onto the mat, "Scared, cadet?" He sneered.

"You're a pretty crap teacher, you know that?" She hissed, taking off the hoodie that she had been wearing and leaving her in shorts and a tank top.

"Oh, really? Am I really?" He said, pretending to be upset, "Oh, Dead-God, what can I do to possibly to a good teacher for you?" He pouted in her direction and she rolled her eyes, "Oh no, wait, that's not right. I _am _a good teacher. Let me see, what would you do if I do this…?"

He lunged again, however, this time she managed to spin out of the way, all the while facing him.

"Now, just remind me, Lopez. Were you able to do that before you arrived at this Academy?"

She ignored him and feigned a punch at his face, which he went to block, and actually hit his stomach. He hunched over ever-so-slightly and grabbed her wrist and spun her around just like he did on her first day.

"Or could you do that?" He hissed in her ear, "When you first arrived, you couldn't even place a hit on me."

She kicked out and forced him to let go of her, refusing to admit how much he had taught her.

"Maybe you're just losing your touch." She muttered, jumping out of the way of a sweeping kick, "Or you're getting old, have you looked at your hair recently?"

She span around to escape one of his punches but in doing so she exposed her back. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her against his chest, holding on a little bit too tight. Her heart jumped into her throat and she felt herself blush just the smallest amount. She told herself it was because of the compromising position and _not _because it was him.

"You try saving a 15-year-old hurricane's life and have her act fucking insane without getting stressed, it's not fucking easy." He hissed, leaning his head down to talk in her ear.

"Can't get me out of your mind, eh?" She teased, fruitlessly trying to pry his arms away from her waist.

He laughed coldly and quickly kneed her in the back. Hard. She dropped to the ground like a dead weight and coughed loudly. She couldn't believe that about 5 seconds before, she almost started to forget she hated this man.

Instead of staying on the ground, like she usually did when he hurt her that bad, she stood back up quickly and aimed a hard punch at his face. In his surprise, the Lieutenant didn't have time to dodge and she made contact. He stumbled back, rubbing his cheek in surprise.

Then his eyes turned dark.

Simultaneously, they threw themselves at each other in the most intense fight so far. Instead of dodging his punches she would take them head-on and then attack him back just as hard. Within a minute they were bloody and bruised but they kept going.

It seemed like no one would get the upper hand. Every time she surprised him with a punch to the head, he'd send her flying onto the floor. She huffed in frustration as she jumped up off the floor and tried to get behind him to wind him like he had done to her.

Being a trained Starship Ranger, however, he knew exactly what he was doing and did his best not to let her get behind him. He doubted that she would even be able to reach that high, the thought made him smirk.

"Something fucking funny?" She panted, punching his face without hesitation.

"I know what you're trying to do," He laughed, "You haven't really thought it through. How are you going to reach my back?" He was panting as well, not nearly as hard as her though.

Smirking, she went to sweep his feet from under him and just as he jumped she spun around him. "Like this." She hissed and jumped slightly, giving her some height, and kicked out, managing to send him spiralling to the ground. She didn't take the time to be astonished that she had finally managed to floor him; instead, she slammed her foot onto his chest just as he turned around to stare at her in disbelief.

He coughed and let his head fall back on the floor, unable to believe she had defeated him after only a month's training. He jolted and then furrowed his brow when he felt one of her hands resting on his shoulder and the other slowly pulling his face around to face her. She almost looked apologetic until she grinned evilly and spat, "I win."

He sat up, not in the slightest bit of pain, more in shock than anything. "That is the last fucking time, Lopez." He growled before standing up and storming out of her gym.

* * *

Taz was knocked out of her day-dream by a crumpled up piece of paper hitting her head. She jumped and looked in the direction of the thrower. Ant smiled sheepishly at her, waving slightly, and quickly checked the front of the class to see the Lieutenant with his backed turned.

"You okay?" He mouthed, craning his head slightly to see past the head of his brother who sat in the desk between them.

She nodded and furrowed her eyebrows, "Why?" She mouthed back, also leaning back so they could communicate effectively.

Ant just shrugged and smiled at her, causing her to blush slightly. The slight attraction of her first day of the Academy had only developed into a small admiration for him – as she got to know Ant better the more he began to annoy her every time he let his not-so-subtle crush show. At first she refused to believe it, she had seen the way almost every girl at the Academy (which admittedly was very few in numbers) would swoon over him and bat their eyelashes in his direction. His blatant crush on Taz had already made her a number of enemies, specifically a girl called Janey White who happened to join Taz in Spanish.

Although Taz was able to take Janey on very easily, Janey made sure she was never the one who would face Taz, instead, getting a small group of second year boys to start on her. They would track her down when she was running the track alone or walking through the gardens to get to her next class alone or any time she was outside and she was alone. They were your typical bullies: always working in a group and always picking on the smallest at their most vulnerable time. Unfortunately for them, Taz was not weak and more often than not one or more of them left with a broken nose. However, sometimes they were just too much and Taz would find herself sitting in Ant's dorm with Ben wrapping up her ribs or cleaning blood away from her face.

This would then lead to Ant getting angry with Janey and standing up for Taz which only deepened her hate and the entire cycle started again.

Taz's small admiration for Ant came from the fact he was so loyal to his friends and because he seemed to genuinely get along with everyone he met. Even Janey and the second years if it had been a while since that had beaten up Taz. She had to admit there was still a small attraction there, though after that first day nobody actually believed she had a crush on him. Physically, Ant was the perfect man: he was tall, muscular, and mysterious. But then he opened his mouth and he turned into a complete puppy. The other girls in her year, even Claire and Amy sometimes, found this trait to be totally endearing but it got on Taz's last nerve. If she ever ended up with someone – though she very much doubted she would – she would have preferred a man who was an actual _man. _Someone who wasn't cliché or romantic, who didn't send her flowers or teddy-bears. That kind of girly crap literally made her sick. She wanted someone who would challenge her but still have a good time. Someone who had the same interests as her but also gave her some space and personal time alone. Someone not like Ant at all, who had taken to following her around every time he realised she had left her room. It made trips to the gym very hard.

She couldn't deny, however, that Ant was a good friend. When he toned down the love sick side of him he was a genuinely good guy and definitely one of her best friends. They had a good laugh together and he protected her the way any good best friend would, even when she didn't need it. It infuriated her sometimes but, overall, she was grateful. Aside from Carlos, she had never had someone outside of her family who cared for her the way Ant and the others did.

"Wanna do something tonight?" Ant mouthed at her, having to repeat it twice more before she was able to accurately lip-read.

Another annoying habit of Ant's was to indirectly ask her out, even though she could see right through it. He would offer the pretence of a friendly movie and then he would put his arm around her or try to hold her hand in a not-so-friendly way. Still, they had combat after this lesson and Taz would no doubt end up being beaten up by the Lieutenant so she decided that she needed a relaxing distraction.

Just as she was about to nod she heard her name being yelled angrily by Lieutenant Up.

* * *

It was safe to say that Up was not enjoying teaching the group calculus whatsoever, they were all complete imbeciles. At least in combat he could beat the cadets up but in the classroom he had to keep his fists to himself. It frustrated him.

The only pleasure he got from this class was humiliating Taz who, as it turned out, was terrible at calculus, much to his pleasure. Just as he turned to ask her a question he both knew she wasn't listening for and wouldn't know the answer anyway, he saw Taz and the tall Turner boy having a casual conversation in the middle of class. His blood boiled at the insolence of the two. Watching Turner ask Taz out on a date made him see red. He couldn't exactly explain why – maybe, he told himself, it was because when he was a cadet he focused solely on his studies and didn't date at all (he didn't allow himself to admit that he was lying to himself because he seemed so focused on forgetting that he had ever had a social life). Seeing her almost about to accept, he screamed their names.

"Lopez! Turner! Would you like to explain to me why planning your _date _is so much more important than learning calculus – one of the things that would help you become a Starship Ranger?"

Turner blushed only a little and sheepishly looked back to his textbook but Taz looked absolutely mortified. Her devilish glare fixed itself on him and she slowly began to stand up – internally, he grinned.

"Something to say, Lopez?" He asked sternly, no one else in the class but Taz hearing the aggravating tease in his voice. The others only heard Lieutenant Up asking a very serious question but Taz knew he was just trying to get her angry.

"_Si, idiota. _I've got something to say." The class turned and looked at her, no longer shocked that she was challenging him but only anticipating what she was going to say, "You can take your calculus…" she began, picking up her textbook, "_And you can shove it up your ass!_" She cried, flinging the textbook at his head and storming out of the room just as the bell signalling the end of the class rang.

Up swerved just in time to hear the book smash against the board and his eyes flashed darkly. The other cadets looked at each other carefully before deciding the best thing for them to do was to also leave the classroom. He waited a small amount before storming off towards the west side of the Academy.

* * *

This was the first time she was waiting for him on the mats, hoodie already strewn to the other side of the room.

"I am the _best _student in your combat class," She began as he ripped off his jacket and shoes and joined her on the mats, "What the _fuck _is your problem with me?" By the end of the sentence she was shrieking and throwing herself at him. He barely had time to acknowledge the fact that they had never both intentionally gone to the gym just to fight before he was on the defence. She fought harder than she ever had before and he was actually mildly impressed.

"My problem with you," He said, pausing to throw her over his shoulder as she rounded on him from behind, "Is that you are more focused on your fucking social life," He ducked low as she jumped and kicked, aiming for his head, "Than you are to be a Ranger." He managed to hit her in the head but was immediately pushed back as she threw herself at him in a flurry of punches and kicks, "And you suck at calculus."

She managed to throw him to the ground for a small space of time while she growled, "I am the only student who trains this hard outside of class." He spun them around, leaning on her throat so she was restricted of breath, "Plus," She managed to gasp out as she kicked him in an area that really ought not be kicked, "You had a social life in the Academy as well."

He forced himself up into standing position even though he felt quite sick and began the fight again. "No, I never. I focused on my studies; that's the only way to become a _good _Starship Ranger. You're just _weak_."

Taz just rolled her eyes at him, no longer letting his insults hit home, "Is that so, remember Ensign Dale?" Something in Up's eyes flashed, "Oh yeah, you remember him. He had a lot of stories to tell Rico last year when he visited the Academy. About how you were best friends, how you used to be a good laugh…" She knocked him to the ground and lowered her mouth to his ear, "Heard you were quite a hit with the ladies. Can't see it myself, poor girls must've gone insane."

He jumped up, throwing her across the mats and storming over to her, "And then I joined the war and realised there was no time for that shit." He yelled, picking her back up and punching her hard in the head. "I saw too many people die for it to matter anymore."

"No!" She screamed kicking him hard in the stomach, "No, _you _just couldn't handle it! Look at Herson and Drane! They're much older than you, they've seen so much more but they didn't let it affect them in the way it affected you! They realised that in the dead-goddamn war the only thing to get you through is the ones you love! They're _stronger _than you, Lieutenant. You may scare everyone on this ship but I see through you, I see how _weak _you really are. Not caring about people who died? What makes you any different than the robots?" She had accused him of being the same as the robots on the very first day they met. It still enraged him.

He threw her to the ground again, this time throwing his entire body weight on her and not allowing her to get up. "I am _not _weak and I will not take this _crap _from a little girl who thinks she's a big-shot now because she's been in the Academy for _three months_. Do you hear me? I am the best dead-goddamn Ranger there is _because _I don't let other people affect me. All I care about is ending the war. The _robots _care about enslaving the human race and we're not going to defeat them by playing happy families, understand?"

Taz just shrugged as best as she could under his weight, "Different goals, same direction." She brought her knee up and hit him as hard as she could again, feeling immense pleasure from watching his face contort in pain and hearing his grunt as he rolled off her. "Combat's in 10 minutes, _sir_," She said as pleasantly as she could, "Don't be late now!" Picking up her hoodie she stormed out, leaving him hunched over in pain.

* * *

"Seriously, I don't get what his problem is!" Taz cried, mouth full of popcorn. She was in Ant's room complaining to Rico, having invited the rest of the group because she didn't have to energy to ward of Ant's advances. "How can you like him, Rico? He's a complete asshole!"

"He's in love with Lily! James bullied him _and _stole the love of his life. Harry has her eyes which is a constant reminder of what he could never had and to top it all off, Harry is the spitting image of his father! It's enough to drive anyone mad! Surely, you can see that Snape is a good guy! He was protecting Harry for 7 years!" Rico cried, pointing towards to paused face of Severus Snape on the TV screen. They had paused it when Taz began insulting him and Rico had gone fanboy-insane.

"That still doesn't make up for him being an asshole to Harry for the past 7 years! I mean, yeah, Harry fucked around with him but only after he realised that Snape hated his guts for no reason! I mean, he had no right! Harry had done nothing wrong! One good deed is not enough to redeem a man of a lifetime of wickedness."

"Though it seems enough to condemn him." Rico added, rolling his eyes slightly.

Amy laughed slightly from the kitchen area where she was making a cup of tea for herself – Taz had once inquired as to why she drank so much of the stuff before Amy informed her that it was because she was British and it wouldm't be British of her not to.

The group had decided to watch Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban after Ant gave a long speech as to why he would not watch 'yet another fucking chick-flick'. Taz, who had no strong feelings one way or the other, agreed straight away and quickly ran into her room to fetch her favourite film which Herson had managed to find for her. Everyone quickly agree that Harry Potter was always the best option.

"Alright, kids, that's enough!" Came the sweet southern voice of Claire, walking out of the bathroom with a small smile on her face, "The real question of the day is: Taz, how on dead-god's great earth did you get those muscles!"

The group had all individually noticed Taz's growing strength over the past few months but no one had thought to mention it until now.

"Yeah, Taz, that's a good point." Rico added, squeezing her biceps, "I hardly ever see you in the gym yet you're starting to look like a motherfucking tank!"

Taz laughed and rolled her eyes, "I'm always in the gym! You must always miss me!"

"Actually no, that's not right." Interrupted Ant with a small frown on his face, "I was coming back from the gym the other day and I saw you coming from the other direction looking bloody and bruised, like knocked up real bad, those second years didn't get you again, did they?"

She began to panic, she knew that if she told them about her private gym they would want to join her and then they would realise that Lieutenant Up also used that gym and then they would come to… _conclusions. _"It was just from combat class, Ant." She scoffed, trying to act nonchalant.

"No, Taz, we didn't have combat that day."

Taz paled and began searching for a way out before she heard Rico muttering in her ear, "_Si usted está de acuerdo que me diga, voy a decirles a los otros que lucharon y le golpearon._"

He was whispering so quietly the others, even though they were staring at Taz intently, didn't notice. Taz nodded slightly, cursing that she would have to tell Rico her secret but glad that the others wouldn't find out.

"Oh, no, wait!" Rico cried, as if he had just remembered something important, "Ant when was this?"

"Um," Ant began, looking confused, "Last Monday?"

Rico smiled and nodded as if he had been expecting that, "Last Monday! Taz, that was when you and I sparred and I kicked your ass!"

Taz grinned and nodded, "Oh, yeah! That's right. That was a thing that happened between us."

Rico sent her a look that told her she was a terrible liar.

"Hold the video-phone!" Claire cried, "Rico you actually beat Taz? Like, actually beat her up? How was that possible?!"

"Admittedly, I was feeling a little under the weather." Taz said, sighing to seem like she really hated to lose to Rico.

He was right, she couldn't lie for shit.

"Only time I've beaten her! It felt grand!"

* * *

Later on, while the others were watching the fourth Harry Potter, Taz and Rico were stood in the kitchen making some more popcorn.

"_¿__Por lo tanto, lo que realmente está pasando, Taz?_"

Taz sighed and moved closer to him, to whisper in his ear even though the other's wouldn't understand anyway, "_Hay un gimnasio abandonado en el lado oeste de la Academia. __Me gusta entrenar solo._"

"_¿Qué pasa con la sangre y moretones?_" He questioned, looking concerned.

"_Me golpearon en la cara por un saco de boxeo, ¿de acuerdo?_" She countered, unsure why she was keeping the fact that her and Lieutenant Up trained together. It felt weird to even think. They hated each other's guts but there was no doubt about the fact that those fights made her a better cadet.

Rico just laughed, accepting her story, and picked up the popcorn and went to sit down. Taz sighed in relief.

* * *

The next day, Taz opted to train in the regular gym with the others but she couldn't help but notice that Lieutenant Up didn't show up for the entire day.

* * *

He didn't know why he was angry with her. The only reason he used to come to this gym was to piss her off and the fact that she didn't show up shouldn't have fazed him. He should've just shrugged and gone back to the regular gym. Instead he began punching his regular punching bag with a fury he hadn't felt in years. It was _rude _to just not show up. She should have told him.

Like a fool, he waited for her and he began to wonder what was wrong with him. Why was he depending upon this girl to show up? She had no obligation to be there. It was true that for that past two months they had both visited the gym after classes were up every day and they fought but it wasn't… _routine. _It was just a coincidence.

So, why was he so angry that she wasn't there? He should be happy. It was a weekend, which meant no classes which meant no accidental running into Taz. He couldn't understand why he was actually waiting for her to show.

Then, he decided to get his own back, show her that he wasn't going to wait around for her, that she was not a significant part of his day. He wouldn't show up the next day.

* * *

She wondered if it was because she hadn't showed the day before but decided that that was insane. She tried to tell herself that for the first time in two months she finally had the gym to herself and could actually work out in peace without some condescending voice in her ear. Still, even as she ran as fast as she could on the running machine or beat the shit out of the punching bag, she couldn't help but wonder if he had been angry that she hadn't showed.

* * *

By the end of the next week, their strange routine had settled back into place. They mentioned the odd two days only once when Taz walked into the gym to see Up already there. She had laughed and said, "Oh, did you miss me?" She had pouted her lips and fluttered her eyes in his direction and he had to turn his head away fast. _She was such a bitch._

After that, everything went back to normal. They hated each other on a level not fathomable to themselves let alone anyone else. They fought and they insulted each other so horribly that if either of their mothers were alive they would wash their mouths out with soap. And then make them eat the soap just for good measure.

It was on a day about two weeks after the incident that Rico finally found Taz. He had been trying to follow her for weeks, not believing her story about the punching bag but she had kept escaping him. It was only after a particularly brutal combat lesson that Taz came storming out of the hall and Rico, who had just been passing to go to his next class, finally got the chance to follow her.

Just as he was about to, however, Lieutenant Up also left the classroom, after everyone else had left, and he began walking in the same direction as Taz. Excited, Rico followed him slowly to the west side of the Academy and down the old school hallway.

He decided stealth was not the way to go so he allowed the pair two or three minutes alone-time before he came storming in with the pretence of, "Hey, Taz! Decided to come and check out your gy-"

His sentence was cut off short when he saw Taz on top of Up. Taz straddling a teacher. Taz pinning a superior officer to the ground. "Taz, you're hooking up with the Lieutenant!"

The sentence left his mouth before he even realised what he was saying.

As quick as a flash, Taz leapt off the Lieutenant and stormed over to him, "Of course not, _idiota_! Why would I '_hook up'_ with the likes of _him_?!"

The Lieutenant just rolled his eye and walked towards the doors, "Please, I would never get with such a pathetic little thing. Taz just likes to come and get the shit beaten out of her."

"Shut _up_, asshole!" Taz screamed, eyes burning in Up's direction.

"Now, I suggest, Alvarez, that you two fuck off so I can work out in peace."

"This was my gym first!" Cried Taz, rather immaturely, "_You _should leave!"

"Superior officer, Lopez, now get your ugly mug out of my sight."

"I fucking hate you!" She screamed, pulling on Rico's arm and dragging him down the hallway. "There's a special place in Hell for the likes of you!" She spun around and screamed in his direction, "On the left-hand side of Satan!"

Rico just laughed and pulled her back towards Amy's room as it was the closest one and she really did make the best cups of tea.

* * *

**Annnnd, phew! Okaaay, what do you all think? Thanks for sticking with me guys. I owe you one.**


	7. Excellent

**Hello my gorgeous little readers! I must apologise. With the chapters getting longer, it's taking longer to write, and re-write, and edit, etc. So I will no longer be sticking to my original time-plan! While I have your lovely little attentions, may I recommend a fic? Yes? I would like that fic to be 'Forbidden Love' by LaurenKate67, we've been talking here and there for a while and she is a lovely girl. I noticed that not many people really reviewed Chapter 6 and I was wondering if it was because you didn't like it? If it was, please go ahead and tell me! I don't want to keep making the same mistakes over and over! This is my longest chapter so far and I took my time on it, I actually really like it because I was having trouble develop the relationship. Please, tell me what you think!**

* * *

_When this began I had nothing to say and I got lost in the emptiness inside me,  
I was confused and I let it all out to find I'm not the only one with these things in mind inside of me,  
But all the vacancy the words revealed is the only real thing that I got left to feel,  
Nothing to lose, just stuck, hollow and alone,  
And the fault is my own,  
And the fault is my own.  
- Somewhere I belong, Linkin Park_

* * *

This, Up had decided, was officially the worst part of being an Academy teacher. And it wasn't exactly his favourite job in the world, anyway. The six month mark had come around, signalling that half a year had passed since the academic year had started. Along with countless calculus papers that he was required to set and mark, this meant he had to complete the reviews for each of the cadets he taught. Half-way through their first year at the Academy the new cadets went under review to determine whether or not they were up to standard and if they could stay on training.

Up knew it was bullshit. They were in the middle of a dead-Goddamn war – they didn't have the time or resources to just drop half of the year because they weren't reaching the G.L.E.E. standards. Even if most of the cadets didn't pass, they would still be kept on. The only reason they were forced to do these fucking reviews was so that the Admiral could release the official statistics (and even if they were bad, they would be altered), so that the public wouldn't see how truly desperate the Galactic League had gotten.

He was lucky he only taught two first-year classes and that they were made up of practically the same people.

He sighed; the review papers he had gotten weren't even in a logical order. Some drop-out cadet from human resources had just hurried into his calculus classroom – squeaking when he saw the infamous Lieutenant Up glaring at him from behind his laptop – and dropped the papers on his desk so fast, they had spread over it and fallen on the floor. He had been so terrified of the Lieutenant, it didn't even occur to him to pick them up and possibly decrease some of Up's anger.

After picking up the papers, not even bothering to rearrange them into alphabetical order, he sat down and began to work. Most were easy: average calculus level and could do much better in combat. He made sure that, even if they were good at one or the other (and, in all fairness, they were very limited in numbers), that he wasn't positive in the slightest. He always found something they could do better in and focused on that.

When it came to cadets like Daniel Sanchez, Up found himself almost having fun.

_**Calculus: **__Hopeless, unable to grasp even the simplest of concepts. Constantly distracted and unable to focus on any task set. Suggests immediate removal from class._

_**Combat: **__Physical fitness is pitiful, not nearly near the standards set by the Galactic League. Hasn't been able to beat anyone in sparring and has not improved in the slightest since enrolment. Suggests immediate removal from class._

_**General: **__Sanchez is a sorry excuse for a cadet, he seems to treat the Academy as a high school, believing it is OK for him to text during lessons, screw around with his friends and completely ignore every lesson that has been presented to him in the past six months. He will never make it as a Starship Ranger and, in my professional opinion, Sanchez will not make it through the Academy. I suggest immediate dismissal from the Academy._

Re-reading Sanchez's review, he sighed. Despite everything, Daniel Sanchez would continue to train to be a Starship Ranger, unless he quit and joined admin. There was a time when the G.L.E.E. had standards; when he first joined, back when the Starship Rangers were the epitome of strength and when the robots were almost kept under control, the Academy had been brutal. It had almost broken him, despite having trained for the majority of his life.

The Academy was a luxury now. With Earth in ruins and the majority of the human race stuck in severe poverty, imbeciles were joining the Academy just for free food and a warm bed to sleep at night. They were located in a country that was once known as England. The entire country was devoted to Starship Rangers and armed to the teeth; it was where the higher officers met if there was a crisis and it was where the barracks were located. The barracks were more like a ghost town now. Up had spent the first year of his life as a Starship Ranger in the barracks, back when the robot attacks were infrequent and they didn't pose any real threat. He would be sent on missions that seemed like child's play compared to what he had faced in his later years.

Up leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. Too many fucking people had died in these wars. Too many people who he had once considered friends, people he had once cared for. He swallowed harshly – he had learnt very early on that he should never get close to anyone.

* * *

_It was towards the end of his second year as being a full-fledged Starship Ranger and he was just about to enter one of the worst battles in the history of the Robot Wars. He had been placed under Commander Herson and his Lieutenant, Steven Johnson._

_Since Up had joined Herson's team a year earlier, Steve had become his best friend. They were inseparable; they were the two rangers that kept moral up when they were moved from the barracks to battle. Despite the years of experience Steve had on Up, he never acted like it. They acted as if there wasn't 15 years between them, as if they were both immature, yet brutal, high school boys who would never let anything bring them down._

_Then came the Battle of Andamanta, the first real battle Up had been involved in._

_Antonio Lopez and his team ran across the wreckage that was once Times Square. "Herson! Greg Herson!" _

_The Commander whipped around and his face spilt into a wide grin, despite the bombs and zapper fire. "Antonio! How are you, man?"_

"_Not too bad, Greg. Little bored, I must say." The two men chuckled together and ducked behind an over-turned car as a bomb came crashing down not 100 feet from them. "How are you holding up? How's John?"_

_Up and Steve jumped behind the car, laughing and shooting robots as if it were just another day._

"_John's good, up to his neck in injurys and it's brining his spirits down, but, overall, he's okay. What about your family?"_

_Antonio gunned down a robot that was sneaking behind Up, "Careful there, lad." Up nodded in thanks and continued to shoot at the countless robots that were advancing on them, "I haven't seen them in a year, Greg. My Tazia is 15 next year and I'm going to give everything to make it to her quincea__ñ__era. My wife constantly sends me letters about Tazia and my youngest, Rosa, and that's the only thing that keeps me going. My girls are the only thing I have left."_

_Herson nodded, understanding his pain, it had been a while since he had seen the Lopez family as well. _

"_So who are these two boys?" Antonio asked, watching in surprise as they jumped out in unison and decommissioned two robots with their bare hands._

"_This is Lieutenant Steve Johnson and Ensign Up, the two finest rangers in my team." The two rangers nodded briefly over their shoulders before they rolled away to use another car to use as a cover._

_Antonio raised an impressed eyebrow as he watched Up destroy three robots with just one bullet and his hands. "That Up's a phenomenal ranger."_

"_Believe me, I know. He'll be a Lieutenant any day now."_

_A shout from Steve alerted the two older men. "Autobot!" They turned and paled immediately as they saw the robots falling back and the giant Autobot climbing through the wreckage. _

"_All rangers to fight the Autobot. Now!" Herson yelled down his com, running out into the open and opening fire. Hundreds of rangers joined them but it didn't seem to be enough._

_Up looked around and saw Antonio and Steven talking closely. Never one to doubt his best friend, he jumped in front of the two and gave them enough cover to plan whatever it was that they were planning._

_He watched as they ran past him, Steven yelling at Up to stay where he was, and ran towards the Autobot._

_Up would never forgive himself for following orders._

_He watched as Antonio and Steve performed the impossible and attacked the robot in a way that made it freeze in its steps._

_Up swelled with pride as he watched it fall to the ground. The rangers around them cheered and the two heroes turned around and celebrated._

_Then Up's blood turned cold._

"Steve!" _His bellow was almost a screech as he sprinted as fast as he could to his best friend. _

_Herson was hot on his tail as he saw the same thing Up did, screaming Atonio's name._

_They both knew they would be too late._

_They both watched at their best friend turned around to face a robot's gun pointed directly at their head._

_They both raised their gun._

_They both shot a second too late._

_The two bodies crumbled to the ground and Herson and Up let out a fierce battle-cry before finally gunning down the two robots that had snuck up behind their best friends._

"_STEVE! Steve, don't be a prat, get up." Up shook him harshly, willing him to stand up, "I'm not going to cry, you tosser, so don't even try and make me. Stand up and let's go. You're playing a fucking stupid game."_

_Herson leant back with tears in his eyes, "Lieutenant."_

_Up shook his friend harder, "See? Even the Commander is telling you to get the fuck up."_

"_Lieutenant."_

"_Steve Johnson, how is this funny? You're a fucking asshole. _Get up!"

"_Lieutenant Up!"_

_Up froze in his tracks. "Don't be fucking ridiculous, Commander. That's _his _title. What, are you just going to kick him out of your squad?"_

"_He's dead, Lieutenant, and you know it."_

"_HE CAN'T BE!" He roared, standing up and rounding on his Commander. "He's Lieutenant Steven Johnson. This man has survived countless bullet wounds. We just need to get him to a medi-bay…"_

_Herson shook his head, "He's gone, boy."_

"_Don't call me that." He whispered harshly, sounding so unlike himself._

"_You're my Lieutenant now."_

* * *

Up groaned. He absolutely detested the fact he had seen Taz's father die. He absolutely detested the fact that, if it wasn't for Taz's father and his fucking plan, Steven Johnson might still be alive.

It hadn't gone unnoticed by him that Antonio Lopez had saved his life. It also hadn't gone unnoticed by him that Antonio Lopez hadn't made it to Taz's quinceañera.

He thought his debt was repaid when he saved his daughter.

But then she was dropped into his life and he had to be reminded every day that her father was the reason his best friend was dead.

He had to be reminded that that was a fucking lie.

If Up hadn't had followed Steve's orders, if he had just _followed _him, he would've been closer. He would've gunned down the two robots and he would still have his best friend.

Taz would still have her father.

Because despite everything, despite blaming Antonio, blaming Taz. Despite hating her more than he had ever hated another human being: he still could've saved her father. And he had never felt guiltier about anything in his life.

Was he just destined to continue to disappoint the girl? First her father. And then her mother. And her grandmother. And her sister. And her friends.

He was the reason she had nothing.

And he hated himself for it.

He had spent so long blaming himself for Steve's death, he couldn't help but think that Taz was a physical manifestation of the guilt he was feeling. She had been tied into his life for so long and out of everything she had ever suffered, he was responsible for all of it.

So he blamed her. He hated her. For something she could have never helped. She was just a girl. And he had ruined her life.

* * *

Going back to the reviews he saw Taz's was next. This was the one he was dreading. What can you say about a girl who you hated? And he did hate her. All guilt aside, she was still a stubborn, argumentative, _impossible _girl who would've rubbed him up the wrong way even if the sight of her didn't break his heart.

Calculus was easy. _Never finished high school, unable to grasp the more advanced calculus. Suggests a tutor._

It was easy but that didn't explain why he was being nice. He had spent countless hours bitching to the Admiral purely about the fact that she had not completed her education and therefore was not mentally able to complete the academic side of the Academy. Yet, now he was using it to _justify _how bad she was at calculus. And suggesting a tutor? Why didn't he just suggest removal from the class like he had done for Sanchez?

He sighed; he was literally going insane.

Combat was harder. He had to begrudgingly admit she was the best combat student in the year. She actually listened to his instructions and modified it to her own skills; she could floor any first year cadet in less than 5 seconds. When he had set her loose on the second years, she had destroyed them as well. It pained him to think about the handful of times she had slammed him to the floor in victory.

He sighed. The only people who would see these reviews were the Admiral and, no doubt, Herson and Drane who had taken it upon themselves to become the heads of the school.

So, he gritted his teeth and just wrote one word.

_Excellent._

He was sure he would be subjected to Herson's merciless smirks and raised eyebrows. That was the worst part; he never even said anything when Up burst into his office and started bitching about his niece. He just raised his eyebrows and nodded, as if he knew something Up didn't.

Herson was a nice enough guy but sometimes Up just wanted to punch that smirk right off his face.

General was easier.

_Stubborn, disruptive and lets her temper get the better of her. _He sighed. _Tries her best and listens to instructions when given. _

Why the fuck was he being nice? Even if he was horrible they wouldn't give a damn, they'd keep her on even if he suggested they shipped her back to Mexico at their earliest convenience.

He seriously needed to fight her again. Soon.

* * *

"Taz, Taz, _Taz!_" Claire's frantic knocking had Taz shooting towards the door, sending her companion a worried glance, "Taz! Open up, now! I'll knock this door down! _Taz!_" Quickly unlocking the door, Taz barely had enough time to get it open before Claire was storming in already screaming so loud that Taz was sure the data-dogs would come running, "You'll never guess what!" She clutched onto Taz's shoulders with a grin on her face, her back to the rest of the room.

"Uh, Claire, you should really know that-" Taz began, quickly glancing over to her bed, worry covering her face.

"Not _now, _Taz! It's not all about you, y'know! I have some _amazing_ news! Rico asked me out! Isn't that great! We're going out for a meal tonight! He's taking me to that Italian place up on the second floor, _L'Anima_! I've never been there before; I've heard it's absolutely _gorgeous_!"

Taz shifted her position uncomfortably and interrupted, "Listen, Claire-"

"_Taz, shut up! _I'm telling you about the best thing that has ever happened to me! I've been waiting 6 months for this, so _listen, _will you? I'm so excited; I can't believe I have a _date _with _Rico Alvarez_! I thought for certain he liked someone else, but he never told me who. It was _me_! Taz, it was _me _he liked! Wait, what if it was just a casual dinner thing between two friends and he doesn't really like me? Oh my dead-God, Taz, what if it isn't a date! Oh, man. I'm so stupid! Of course, it's just a casual dinner! You and Rico go out for meals all the time! Admittedly, it's only to the mess hall," Taz rolled her eyes, "What should I wear?! I mean, I don't want to seem too forward-"

Taz rolled her eyes and grabbed Claire's shoulders, spinning her around to face the figure lounging on her bed who was watching the scene with a bemused expression on his face.

Claire's face coloured red so quickly Taz wondered if she was okay, "Rico! I didn't know you were here. Oh dead-God, just ignore everything you heard!" She was slowly backing out the room, eyes locked on Rico, "Okay, bye, see you tonight, okay, bye!" Just as she turned to leave she hissed in Taz's ear, "_Why didn't you tell me?!_"

The door slammed shut and Taz laughed, rolling her eyes at Rico who was looking a little bit like a kid on Christmas day. He stood up off of the bed and stretched, unable to resist dancing around Taz's room a small amount.

5 minutes earlier, Rico had come running to Taz's room, completely ignoring Ant's 'hello', and knocked so loud Taz was concerned for the welfare of her door. Taz just listened, amused, as he paced back and forth through her room, freaking out over asking Claire on a date and pretty much wondering the exact same things as Claire.

"Did you hear that?!" He cried as he gathered Taz in his arms, spinning her around quickly, and chucking her on the bed. He fell down beside her and stared at the ceiling, "I have an actual date with Claire and she feels the same!"

Taz laughed softly and closed her eyes, content to just listen to Rico's ramblings until it was time for him to get ready for the date. However, his next question surprised her.

"What about you, Taz?"

She opened her eyes and raised an eyebrow, "What about me?"

"Well, you've been here for 6 months and you've never even spoken about another guy – well, apart from the Lieutenant." He grinned at her while she pretended to gag.

"I don't do dates, or _novios_, or stupid, gushy romantic _mierda _you're doing with Claire tonight. You know that."

Rico smiled at her as she stood up and walked around her room, mindlessly fiddling with things. "Not even Ant?" He inquired, raising his eyebrows slightly. He knew that Ant had captured her attention, he always did when girls first met him, but apart from that first day Taz hadn't shown even the slightest bit attention to him.

"Ugh," She pulled a face and fell down into her desk chair, "Remember when he dated Lucy Grange last month? How incredibly disgusting he was? Sending her flowers every day, texting her every 30 minutes to see if she was okay? Dead-God, no, Ant's just a good friend."

He nodded, satisfied and pretty much expecting it, "Well, there has to be someone who has captured your attention?" He started, watching her roll her eyes at his topic of conversation, "What about Chris?" He said, referring to the boy she fought with most in combat class.

She shrugged, "He can pack a punch and he's built like a fucking tank but that's the only thing he's got going for him. Seriously, Rico, _no me gustan las relaciones_."

"I know, Taz, but you're so young! Don't most 15 year old girls pine after boys?"

She laughed and raised an eyebrow, "You honestly think I'm like most 15 year old girls? Can I just remind you that I am the best combat student in a year full of 18 year old boys?"

Rico grinned and pulled himself off of the bed, "I guess you're right, you'll die an old, lonely legendary war-hero." He made sure he was out of the door before yelling, "Just like Lieutenant Up!" He laughed when he heard something – most possibly a shoe – being thrown at the door, "I'll see you later, Tazzy!"

* * *

She rolled her eyes and stormed towards her bathroom, muttering insults under her breath. Ever since Rico had found her and the Lieutenant in a more-than-compromising position, he had made a point to stay away from the gym, telling Taz that he was allowing her to have her 'own special moments with him'. Taz had ground her teeth together and had told him very carefully that she was not, nor would she ever be _dating _that man.

He had just grinned and said, "Whatever you say, little one."

She had then made the mistake of going into the details, "He's 24, Rico! I'm 15! That's kind of gross."

"A 9 year age gap isn't too bad, y'know." He'd hinted gently, inwardly grinning at the turn of conversation.

"No, not when you're older and both of you are in your 20's or 30's but with a teenager it's just wrong!"

His eyes lit up as if she had just told him everything he wanted to know, "So, in 5 years, you'd be willing to date him?"

Her face had dropped when she realised she had walked right into his trap, "Of course not! It's _him_! If you've forgotten, we _hate _each other!"

"There's a fine line between love and hate, Taz, everybody knows it."

She'd stormed out of the room, leaving him laughing and sporting a very pretty black eye.

* * *

Standing in the shower, she began muttering under her breath.

"_Dating the Lieutenant? That's bullshit. Like he would ever look twice at me." _She sighed. "_Like I would ever look twice at him! Rico should just shut his mouth, it's fucking ridiculous. I would never want someone like him!"_

She tipped her head back, allowing the hot water to cascade down her body and she closed her eyes tight. She had no idea why the Lieutenant hated her; sure, she had been a bitch to him when they had first met, but he completely deserved it. He had arrived too late.

Although, she suddenly thought, Herson was in that team and he wasn't anywhere _near _the quinceañera. She hadn't even thought about being angry with him. At least the Lieutenant had saved her.

Then she remembered the cold look in his eye and she remembered his words and she remembered that he just didn't care and her anger flared up again.

The Lieutenant was unbelievably cruel. He had hit a 15 year old girl; he had been _okay _with hitting a 15 year old girl. It was different now that she was in the Academy, she was a cadet, but, before, she was a sad, vulnerable girl who had just lost everything and he knew that.

She was unable to stop the tears.

She had made the promise to herself on the first day that she wasn't going to cry anymore but she couldn't help it. It was her fault they were dead. It was so easy to hate Lieutenant Up and scream at him for his failures but, if she was truthful with herself, he had done everything he could and he had done a damned good job of it too. She blamed him so she wouldn't have to face the truth that she was the one to blame. If she had just run faster, if she had finished off those two robots quicker, she would've made it to the tree in time to stop the three people she loved most in the world being gunned down.

She felt like such a failure and she wasn't even a Starship Ranger yet.

The sobs ripped from her throat before she even noticed they were coming and she fell to the floor of the shower, tearing her hands through her hair. Distractedly, she was thankful for the fact that Ant had told her he was going to go and 'play football with the guys' because she was sure he would hear her else.

Trying to calm herself down, she crawled out of the shower, turned it off and wrapped a towel around herself.

She was a mess.

* * *

Phil Watson, the Admiral, sighed as he looked at yet another pile of paperwork that had landed on his desk. He missed the good-old days when he was fighting beside Greg Herson and Antonio Lopez and, even though being the Admiral meant he was able to see his beautiful wife, Luanne, and his three amazing kids a lot more, he often wished he was back on the battlefield with his best friends.

His eyebrows rose in surprise when he heard his receptionist's voice coming from his telephone, "Taz Lopez is here to see you, sir."

He hadn't seen Taz since the day she enrolled so he began to panic that something had happened to Herson or Drane. "Yes, let her in!"

Taz walked in, eyes downcast and looking so unbelievably vulnerable he wondered why Lieutenant Up often stormed into his office complaining about how she was a nightmare.

"_Hola, Tazia._" He said softly, as she dropped herself into the chair that was opposite his. "What can I do for you today?"

"You knew _mi padre, si?_" She questioned, looking so pained it hurt him almost as much as if one of his children came to him looking like that.

"We were good friends, _cariño._" He replied, eyebrows crumpling in confusion.

"And he trusted you?" She settled back in her chair watching her hands.

"Where are you going with this, Taz?"

"Would he be angry with me?"

Her question startled him, "Why on Earth would your father be angry with you, dear?"

She shook her head and closed her eyes and it pained him to see such a young girl with so much hurt in her heart, "Because I couldn't save them. I got out alive and _mi mamá y mi hermana_ are still in Mexico somewhere and I didn't even give them a proper goodbye. I'm pretending to be some hot-shot Starship Ranger even though I've failed everyone."

"Honey, listen to me. I knew your father for many years, okay? He would be so proud of you, right now."

Her eyes shot up and he smiled when he saw hope flash through them, "Really? Even though I'm a joke to the Galactic League?"

Phil's receptionist knocked and stuck her head around the door, "Terribly sorry to disturb you, sir, but Lieutenant Up has completed his cadet reviews." She walked into the room and placed the papers on his desk.

He nodded in thanks and glanced at the top review, smirking slightly. "No one thinks you're a joke, Taz. Apparently not even Lieutenant Up."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes, like _that _would ever happen. The Admiral slid a piece of paper across the table and she looked at it curiously.

It was his handwriting. She knew that from the countless calculus papers he enjoyed to red-pen. But it almost seemed impossible. Her eyes widened and she looked for some sign that he hadn't written it.

But the truth was in front of her eyes.

It was most definitely Lieutenant Up's handwriting and he had most definitely called her _excellent. _

She scolded herself almost immediately after she began bursting with pride; luckily she had enough sense to stop the almighty grin from invading her face. Why should his opinion matter?

"Lieutenant Up wrote this?" She asked, even though she knew the answer.

"Yes he did, maybe he doesn't hate you as much as he says he does." The Admiral answered, grinning as he thought about the countless conversations he'd had with Herson and Drane about the two. "Maybe he actually likes you."

She scoffed, "Highly unlikely, sir. Lieutenant Up couldn't hate me anymore even if he tried."

"Have you ever heard of Arthur Conan Doyle, Taz?"

She raised her eyebrow at the switch in conversation but answered anyway, "_Si, _I love Sherlock Holmes."

"Have you read any of his other stuff, what about 'Sir Nigel'?" He inquired, smirking.

"_Si… _Why?"

He just laughed, "Do you remember the quote 'hot hate is twin brother to hot love'?" His grin grew wider as her face dropped and she looked mortified.

"You have got to be kidding me…" She muttered, leaning her forehead on her palm, "Not you too. Does nobody care that I'm 15? And he's 24? And a superior officer? And a teacher? _And the fact that we hate each other?_"

"We definitely care that you're 15 and if Lieutenant Up even thought about touching you before you left the Academy, I would have his head on a platter. But, Taz, you two aren't going to realise it for years. You're just going to have to trust me on this one."

She groaned loudly, "_Sir, _with all due respect, I don't intend on ending up with anyone. _Especially_ not Lieutenant Up, okay? I promise you."

* * *

She had left the Admiral chortling to himself as he read the rest of her review. She needed to think.

Taz walked into the grounds, waving back to a topless Ant who was sweating on the football pitch and earning a glare from Janey White who was leaning on the fence, flipping her hair and giggling at everything Ant said. She rolled her eyes, why did girls like Janey, who literally did no work because 'it's too hard and boring', want to join the Starship Rangers?

It wasn't even that she was popular or pretty or the epitome of a 'cheerleader girl'. Claire was the same but she was going to be a fine ranger someday and everyone knew it.

The Academy was located deep within the English countryside, so Taz found herself climbing a large tor and sitting upon it. If she turned her back to the metallic building and training centre and just faced the untouched landscape, she could relax.

Lieutenant Up had called her excellent.

It had been there; written down in his messy scrawl, clear as day.

She had seen a glimpse of the others. Even Chris, the second best combat student in their class, didn't get praise like that. The Lieutenant had focused on everything he did wrong and needed to improve upon.

She _knew _she wasn't perfect. She knew she still had faults and that she could improve. She knew he knew it to; he told her it enough when they were fighting. So, what on Earth had possessed him to write 'excellent' on her review?

He _hated _her, he always had.

He had made that very clear from the first day they met. She buried her face in her hands; what was he playing at?

"Lopez!" A gruff voice yelled from below her, "Get your fucking ass down here!"

Taz groaned. After Lieutenant Up had let her fight the second years, they had accepted her and she had begun hanging out with some of them – mainly Rico's friends. However, there were still some second years who liked to hang onto Janey's every word that were more than happy to beat her up. They didn't like that a 15 year old girl could take down 19 year old boys.

She stood up and stared down at them. Apparently even waving to Ant was too much now. "Why should I?" She called, counting them.

5. She couldn't take on 5 second years on her own. The Lieutenant had only just gotten her started on fighting _2_ first years at once.

"Because if you don't, we'll come up and get you. How many bones do you think we could break if we chucked you from this tor?"

She growled, he had her there. "Tell me," She said and she began climbing down, "To what do I owe the pleasure?" She landed in front of him and stared them down; she never let them see that she was scared.

"Janey's sick of you acting like a fucking slut every time you're around Ant." One growled, pushing himself towards her.

She sidestepped him and kept them talking, "I didn't realise that waving to someone was considered to be slutty – I must refrain myself from now on."

"Don't be a smartass, Lopez." The leader, Kevin McDonald, muttered. "Girls like you don't get guys like Ant, stay away from him."

"Girls like me?" She questioned.

"A girl who acts like a dude. A girl who reads all the fucking time – you're a nerd, Lopez. Ant is a jock." He explained as if it were very obvious.

"This isn't high school, dick face. There aren't any cliques here." She rolled her eyes.

"You're only saying that because Janey's the popular girl, Lopez."

She laughed, did these guys hear what they were saying? "What's so good about being Janey's lacky, Kevin? Do you seriously think you're going to get anything out of it?" She taunted, probably making the situation worse for herself.

He growled, "Little sluts like you need to be taught a fucking lesson."

She looked down at the Academy and realised they were really too high up for anyone to find them, "_Dios mio._" She muttered, backing away slightly.

"I am so fucking sick of your fucking French." One of the guys said, trying to look intimidating as he swung his fist against his palm.

She rolled her eyes, "It's Spanish, _idiotas_."

They moved as one. Two of them grabbed her arms and slammed her back against the tor and she heard a sickening crack as her head hit the rock.

"You may be good at combat in a controlled environment, Lopez, but you're pretty fucking useless anywhere else."

She held back a groan as he slammed his fist into her face. She struggled against their restraints but they were too strong. So she tried to kick them but that only brought her a punch to the stomach.

By the time the other two began hitting her in the head, she was already starting to lose consciousness. This was bad, they could literally beat her until she died and she probably would never be found.

The last thing she remembered was being dropped to the ground and the other two joining in.

* * *

Up decided to take a walk. He was so bogged down with guilt and confusion over that one little 'excellent' and he missed Steve like crazy. He just had to get out of the Academy for a while. He took a walk towards the tors that were on top of a hill. The English countryside was beautiful but he sure missed Alabama.

His brow furrowed when he reached a tor and he heard laughs and insults coming from the other side. Really not in the mood to be dealing with bullying, he rolled his eyes and strolled around, counting 5 second year boys gathered around one body on the ground.

"What's going on here?" He roared, making the cadets jump away and giving Up a glimpse at Taz's broken body. His heart jumped in his throat and he quickly scanned for any signs of life. The amount of relief he felt when he heard her jagged breathing was worrying.

"Don't worry, boys." The oldest one, Kevin McDonald from his second-year combat class, cried. "It's only Lieutenant Up. He hates this little slut just as much as we do. Go on, sir, show this bitch that she doesn't belong here."

Up stared at the boys with an unexplainable anger growing inside of him. He was the only one allowed to be this cruel to her.

Ignoring their confusion, he swept past them and pulled Taz up on his back, gently wrapping her arms around his neck. Her uneven breathing against his neck worried him.

He turned around and fixed his glare on the group; 4 of them backed away, except for Kevin who said, "Gonna climb up that tor and throw her off, sir?" He grinned and winked at him.

Up knocked him out with a single punch.

Anger shook his bones and he couldn't remember a time when he truly felt this mad. "You fucking assholes better fucking run." He growled, his voice low and menacing.

They didn't need to be told twice. They sprinted off, towards the back of the Academy and Up was hot on their tails. He prayed to dead-God that Taz would stay slumped over his shoulder enough that she wouldn't fall backwards.

By the time they had reached the back of the Academy it was too late to realise their mistake. Up had trapped them in a dead-end in a place that no one would think to check. He was so angry he could rip them apart limb from limb.

He advanced on them, laying Taz lightly on the floor, and his eyes darkened. Just as he raised a fist to punch one, they turned and threw themselves into the dumpsters that were in the alley. They pulled the lid down behind them, shaking in fear.

Lieutenant Up's voice came through the metal, "You lay another finger on her ever again, and I will find out, I will personally kill each and every one of you."

Deciding he didn't need to hear them agree, he turned around, scooped Taz up into his arms and walked towards the medical bay.

_Keep breathing. Keep breathing. _He muttered under his breath, walking as fast as he could. Her breathing was severely laboured and his white shirt was being soaked through with her blood.

* * *

Drane leaned back in his office chair, pulling Herson with him. "Greg, you need to come back to the room more often." He muttered between kisses, threading his fingers through his husband's hair and pulling him closer, "I hardly ever see you, I miss you."

Herson settled himself on his lap and deepened the kiss, "I'll be home tonight, baby. I'm done with all the paperwork now. You'll never guess what Up said about Taz…" Drane grabbed the back of his head and pulled him down for another bruising kiss,

"I don't want to talk about Taz and Up while we're doing this, Greg! It's just weird!"

He laughed and was about to pull John in again when he heard the medical bay come to life outside of the door, "Looks like you've got a new patient." Greg muttered sadly, pulling himself off his husband's lap.

"Sirs!" An orderly cried, sprinting into the room, "It's Taz. It's not good."

The men looked at each other and ran out the room in time to see Lieutenant Up laying their unconscious niece down on a hospital bed. When he stood up they saw he was covered in her blood.

"Oh, dead-God, Taz!" Drane cried, rushing forward to check her vitals.

Herson rounded on Up, "What did you do?!"

Up, who had been busy staring at Taz, whipped around, "You think I did this?" He cried, voice rising in anger, "I would never knock her out!"

"Then why are you covered in her blood?" He questioned, not believing him.

"Because I saved her! You're welcome, by the fucking way!" He turned to storm out of the medical bay but Herson grabbed his arm and spun him back around again,

"Why on Earth would _you _want to save _her_? I was under the impression you hated each other."

Up's eyes narrowed, "Despite what you think of me, _sir_, I do have morals and I wasn't going to stand around watching _your niece _get attacked by 5 second years." He heard Drane worrying about her ribs and turned around, "Look at her head, Drane. They hit it pretty hard on the rock."

Drane groaned when he lifted her head up to see the white pillow already sodden with Taz's blood.

Herson was managing to stay strangely calm, even though his heart was breaking at the sight of Taz broken and bloody on the bed, "What were their names, Lieutenant?"

As he suspected he would, Up shook he head and walked backwards, "I'll deal with them."

"Lieutenant, I don't understand what possessed you to save Taz. Again. I'll be forever grateful that you have but I cannot let you deal with these boys. You're not in the right state of mind."

Up ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, "Look what they've done to her! Don't you want to kill them as well?" He moaned and buried his face in his hands. What was wrong with him?

"Why do you care, Lieutenant?"

He was just asking himself the very same question.

"It's not _her, _sir. It's anyone. It's the fact that a group of 19 year old boys would willingly beat the shit out of any 15 year old girl. I would've saved anyone. I don't care about her, sir. It's the principle of the matter." Lie.

Herson nodded, "Go back to your room, Lieutenant. We'll deal with the boys later."

Up turned and walked away before remembering something. He almost groaned out loud as he turned around to tell Herson, "This isn't the first time, sir. She comes to class a lot with bruises that I haven't put there. We all know I'm the only one who can lay a punch on her."

How had he noticed that? Surely, he wasn't paying attention to every single bruise he gave her?

He was seriously fucked up.

He needed a drink.

* * *

The bar on the upper floor that was reserved only for qualified rangers was practically empty. Aside from a few guys playing poker, Up was the only ranger there.

He clutched his whiskey tight in his hands, watching his knuckles turn white.

She scared him, and confused him. He hated her even more for it.

In some ways he was glad he hated her, if she had been the weak, vulnerable girl he first thought her to be, his guilt would've increased tenfold.

At least, because she was such an arrogant, insolent and frustrating person, he could quench some of his guilt.

He knew exactly why he saved her again.

He was trying to pay off some of his debt to her. He hated feeling like he owed Taz for anything but he did. He was the reason she didn't have a family.

Turning around in his barstool, he looked for a distraction and found it in the form of the Admiral walking towards him.

"I heard what you did." So maybe 'distraction' was the wrong word, more like 'the thing that will constantly remind you that you owe Taz'.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"What about what you wrote on your review? Taz looked pretty surprised."

Up's face contorted and he threw back his whiskey, demanding another one, "You _showed _her?" He growled, fixing his glare on the older man.

"She was in my office at the time. Lieutenant, can I give you some advice?" Up waved his hand, turning his head to face the Admiral. "I know you're terrified of what you feel for Taz Lopez." His eyes flashed, "I'm not saying you have any romantic feelings, whatsoever!" The Admiral cried, raising his hands, "All I'm saying is you're terrified that one person can make you feel so angry and so guilty at the same time, and you think that fighting her and letting your anger out on her will release that but it only makes you feel more guilty. I understand, Lieutenant. But, have you ever thought of just _telling_ her everything and being friends?"

He sat for a while, staring at his glass, before laughing, "To be honest, Admiral. I can't think of anything I'd like to do _less _than pretend to be friends with Taz Lopez. I would rather stick needles in my eye. She's a pain in my ass and the sooner she gets out of this Academy, the better."

Phil sighed as he watched his best Lieutenant saunter out of the bar, chucking his glass on the floor on the way out.

* * *

One week later Up was working out in his – their - _his_ private gym. He was trying not to listen to news about her but apparently Taz was still in a coma so when she came storming in the gym, looking rough but otherwise okay, he raised an eyebrow.

"Fight me." She demanded, staring him down.

"No." He replied going back to his running machine. He stared straight ahead so almost ran straight into the machine when Taz appeared out of nowhere and pulled the emergency cord.

"I _said_: fight me!" She growled, pushing him off the machine and rounding on him.

He grabbed her wrists in her hands and slowly walked backwards as she tried to attack him, "I'm not going to fight you, Taz."

"_Don't call me that!_" She screeched, ripping her hands free. He realised it was probably the first time he had ever used her forename. She stormed to the other side of the mats, breathing heavily and facing away from him.

_She's freaked out. _He thought, suddenly.

Of course, she had seen his review, she had most probably heard about him saving her and then protecting her, and now he was refusing to fight her and trying to start a relationship on a first-name basis.

"Get here." He growled, stripping off his t-shirt and throwing it to the ground. _She's just got out of a coma. I can't hit her too hard. _And then he shook his head. Three months ago he would've jumped at this opportunity.

She span around, relief covering her features, until she saw him topless.

_Dios mio, he's hot. _

And then her eyes widened, _What! Those bastards must've fucked me up more than I realised. I think I have brain damage or something._

He waited for her to throw the first punch. When she did, throwing herself at him weaker than her usual because she had just woken up, he only twisted her arm behind her back lightly. "No, _no, idiota! _Hurt me! Throw me to the ground and tell me how weak I am! _Deja de ir fácil en mí!_"

He sighed, his breath tickling her ears, "You just got out of a coma, Lopez. I'm not that much of a monster."

"You're supposed to be!" She cried, spinning out of his grasp. She refused to let the tears fall, "Why did you do it?"

He knew she wasn't only referring to saving her. He swallowed thickly. "I don't know."

"This is too weird. I _know _you hate me, you can't make up that kind of hate, right?"

He nodded quickly, he definitely wanted to fight her, it was his moral compass that was telling him 'no'. He had never hated another human being more than he hated her.

"So, punch me, dead-Goddamn it!" She cried.

He closed his eyes and decided that, for both their sakes, he really needed to act like he used to. So, he pulled his arm back and smacked her across the face.

She grinned and threw herself at him, watching his face closely. He seemed determined to hit her but there also seemed to be a trace of guilt there as well.

She decided to up her game. Spinning out of the way of a punch she brought her knee up to kick him in his most sensitive area. Watching his eyes flash with pain, she knew she had done it.

"You little bitch…" He coughed, lunging for her and pinning her arms high above her head.

She whimpered slightly, but not from the pain.

She tried to swallow and move out of his grasp but he was too strong, he always was when he had her down like that. But he had never gone topless before. She stopped struggling and let her eyes sweep over his body. Her eyes locked back onto his quickly and she watched as they widened. Closing her eyes tightly, she whispered a quiet '_dios mio' _before ripping her wrists out of his hands and rolling away; he didn't even seem to be trying.

In fact, he was still crouched on the ground staring at the floor. _Did she just…_

He was used to woman staring at him, it was the main reason he never took his shirt off in the regular gym. He had done it without thinking; he didn't even see her as a woman or any gender anymore, just as someone he could fight.

She was incredibly unsubtle. And she was 15.

The wrongness of the situation disgusted him.

It was a strange week all-around.

He heard her groan and storm over to the punching bag and stood to watch her, this was beginning to get insane.

"Get out." He growled, staring at her back.

"No!" She screamed, whirling around, "You get out, _idiota_!" She was trying to put back some of the animosity between them. It wasn't working. Her face was scarlet and her eyes glittered.

"Fine." He spat, storming over to his t-shirt and flinging it back on, "Let's not talk about _anything _that has happened this week, okay, Lopez?"

She nodded quickly, blushing even darker red. "It's been a strange one."

"No, no, no." He cried, walking backwards, pointing at her, "No conversations unless you're screaming at me in Spanish. We're not going there. We're going to continue to hate each other. Okay? Okay. Don't even think about doing anything else."

He turned and all-but ran to the bar, buying two bottles of whiskey and locking himself in his room for the night, intending to forget the past week ever happened.

Taz, on the other hand, unable to drink and too weak to fight, visited her friends in Ant's room and demanded a Harry Potter marathon. They looked at her strangely but nodded anyway, they had grown accustomed to Taz's strange moods.

Both vowed to never speak of that week again.

* * *

**You have no idea how hard it was to incorporate 'And that time those bullies were picking on me 'cause I'm so little and I like to read and I got on your back and we chased them into the dumpster and they looked like a bunch of chickens!' (chillies?) into a love/hate story. So I had to modify it a bit. Please, tell me what you think!  
**


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